January 1, 2017 (ZALINGEI) Sudanese government forces in Nertiti, Central Darfur State, killed at least nine civilians on Sunday with guns in an apparent revenge attack for the murder of a soldier, a local activist said. Abdallah Saleh al-Shafie humanitarian official of displaced persons and refugees association told Sudan Tribune that the government forces in Nertiti launched an indiscriminate attack on the civilians using heavy and light weapons after a soldier was found dead in the area. Al-Shafie confirmed that nine people were killed and 60 wounded, some of them are seriously hurt. He added that government troops looted civilian property and broke into shops in Nertiti-North and Nertiti-South markets. He said the body of the murdered soldier was found lying in the street, stressing that the offender was not identified

The humanitarian official said dozens of wounded civilians are treated at the UNAMID hospital as Nertiti hospital was unable to receive them. Further the government forces arrested 15 people during the “barbaric and savage,” attack, as he said, while others fled the area and sought protection in the area just outside the UNAMID site.

REBELS CONDEMN

The Sudan Liberation Movement- Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) condemned “Nirtiti massacre” and called on the international community to stop the targeting of civilians in Darfur. “The Sudan Liberation Movement condemns this deliberate attack carried out under direct order of the president of Salvation regime who is wanted for justice and the director of security apparatus. This attack is an evidence to prove the regime’s lack of seriousness to achieve peace in Sudan,” said the SLM-MM spokesperson Mohamed Hassan Haroun.

He further said the group does not acknowledge the recent extension of unilateral cessation of hostilities for one month by the Sudanese president. The SLM reiterates its rejection to sign any cessation of hostilities or ceasefire agreement unless the regime stops the repeated attacks and unless al-Bashir stops instructing these militias which he directs personally, further said the rebel group.

Soldiers’ New Year revelry injures Central Darfur civilians

January 2 – 2017 ZALINGEI

Three people were injured, and several women reportedly miscarried in the early hours of Sunday morning, when regular and militia forces opened fire during New Year celebrations in Zalingei in Central Darfur.

A resident told Radio Dabanga that the dense shooting sparked panic among the population of Zalingei. The injured include Mohamed Ali, Maryam Ibrahim Ishag, and Abdelshakour Ahmed Abdelrasoul who suffered a gunshot wound to his chest.

The witness also reported that a number of women miscarried as a result of extreme panic.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps told Radio Dabanga: “we expected to welcome the New Year with peace and love, but it was welcomed with gunfire.”

Nierteti ‘massacre’ sparks outrage across Sudan

January 2 – 2017 NIERTETI

At least two people have been killed and 39 others wounded in an attack by Sudanese army soldiers on Nierteti in Central Darfur on Sunday morning.

Voices from across Sudan’s political spectrum have united in condemning the attack. Several political parties have issues strongly-worded statements. Central Darfur Governor Jaafar Abdelhakam has called a press conference for this afternoon.

Witnesses, including some of the wounded told Radio Dabanga that the incident occurred when an army force, driving four Land Cruisers mounted with machine guns, stormed the town and opened fire. It seems that the attack was in response to the killing of one of the army personnel by unknown assailants in Nierteti on Friday.

Witnesses said that student Feisal Mohamed Ahmed Ishag of Nierteti secondary school, and basic schoolgirl Teyseer Adam Mohamed Ishag, were both killed while within their homes. 16 other people, including women and children, were injured in the gunfire.

The callers reported that 19 more people were either stabbed or beaten with rifle butts by the army personnel. Four Nierteti policemen also reportedly suffered various injuries.

Nierteti market

Another army force then stormed Nierteti market, stole mobile phones and goods from shops and stalls estimated at SDG 50,000 ($7,700). They also plundered some houses in the city.

A third group of soldiers stormed the northern camp for displaced, and stole mobile phones and goods from Koga market.

Callers and activists described the situation in Nierteti as ‘tense’: the schools are still closed and people have remained in their homes since early morning amid arrival of a high delegation from the state government from Zalingei to calm the situation.

The witnesses also said that Unamid did not react to the attack in any way.

Outrage

The residents of Nierteti locality held the military garrison commander, Colonel Mohamed El Tayeb, and the locality’s Commissioner fully responsible for the incidents.

They strongly demanded the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime, headed by the commander of the garrison who is accused of issuing instructions to attack on the people of the city.

The coordinator of the displaced people of Central Darfur condemned the incidents that took place in Nierteti and described the attack on the innocent people as “barbaric and brutal”.

The coordinator held the state Governor and Unamid responsible for the incidents “because of their inability to protect the civilians”.

On Sunday El Shafee Abdallah, the Coordinator of Central Darfur camps told Radio Dabanga that the attack by the armed forces is condemned and denounced in the strongest terms.

SPLM-N

Yasir Arman, Secretary-General of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) issued a statement saying Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir and his government “celebrated the New Year by committing a war crime and carrying out revenge against the civilian populations in the state of Central Darfur…”

The SPLM-N calls on the Sudanese public “to stand against genocide and war crimes and it appeals to the United Nations Security Council, the United States, and the European Union to take measures against General Bashir. This massacre is reminding all of the international stakeholders of the need for civilian protection in Sudan rather than rewarding General Bashir and casting a blind eye on his war crimes.”

Darfur Union UK

Civil society organisation Darfur Union in the United Kingdom issued a statement on their blog saying that “First of January 2017 marks the first atrocity committed by the government of Sudan in Central Darfur”. The statement continues: “The residents of Nierteti and its localities have welcomed the new year with much sadness and sorrow. Darfur Union in the UK plea to the United Nation Security Council and UK government to open an International lead investigation with regards to the latest crimes and violations of human rights taken place in central Darfur by the government troops.”

The Darfur Union statement lists 11 dead and 24 injured civilians, but those have yet to be independently verified.

Social media campaign

Voices from across Sudanese society have rallied to a social media campaign condemning the attacks under the hashtags #sudanese_blood_spilled_again and #Nertiti_massacre_darfur which show graphic images of the dead.

‘Rebels to blame for Nierteti killing’: Central Darfur Governor

January 3 – 2017 NIERTETI

Central Darfur Governor Jaafar Abdelhakam has accused the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) of involvement in what he called “the riots in Nierteti” which began on Friday and led to the killing of a soldier at Kombo Ghabat, and the subsequent death of two children, with 47 more people injured.

Governor Abdelhakam told a news conference in the state capital Zalingei on Monday that “a joint force from the army, police, and security moved on Sunday morning to Kombo Ghabat area to hunt-down six perpetrators who started opening fire first, and incited people to face the joint forces with a riot”.

He said “the joint forces acted responsibly and faced the raging public with batons and rifle butts, which subjected 28 people, including four police and 19 women, to light injuries. In addition, two members of the same family were killed by bullets fired by the accused.”

‘Returned to normal’

The Governor explained that “the joint force managed to arrest the suspects and pledged to implement the recommendations of the committee of investigation, make an inventory of losses, and compensate all those affected after taking an oath”.

Also he said that “the situation in Nierteti has returned to normal”.

However several witnesses from Nierteti refute Governor Andelhakam’s explanation. Some of the wounded told Radio Dabanga that the government troops are the ones who attacked the district, opened fire into the district and stole the property of the residents. “They came from within the military barracks in four vehicles mounted with machine guns”.

The callers accused the Governor of “attempting to protect the aggressors of the armed forces who acted on the orders of their commander”

Conflicting story

However, according to an article published in Khartoum newspapers on Monday, the Deputy-Governor of Central Darfur, Mohamed Mousa Ahmed, has a different explanation.

The newspapers quoted Mousa as saying that the attack resulted from a misunderstanding between the residents and the armed forces, which led to the killing of 2 and wounding 13 others.

The Deputy Governor acknowledged robberies and theft in the market and some houses, and said that they will make inventory of the shops that were stolen so as to compensate the owners, as well committing to pay blood money and treat the wounded.

Delegation

On Monday the Deputy Governor met within a delegation that included the Commander of 21st Infantry and notables in Nierteti where he committed to pay blood money to the relatives of dead, provide treatment for the wounded, and compensate all the losses caused by the armed forces in the city.

Maj. Gen. Abboud Mansour, the Commander of 21st Infantry, said that “regular forces were committed not to respond to incoming fire in order to avoid chaos, as the fire from within the district was so dense”.

In comments to Khartoum newspapers on Monday, Gen. Mansour said that the death of the two children during the shooting sparked the people to attack the armed forces with stones, sticks and knives that caused minor injuries among the regular forces

‘Extension of genocide’

Abdel Wahid Mohammed El Nur, leader of the SLM-AW, has denied that his Movement had anything to do with the “Nierteti bloody massacre” and held the government responsible.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, he said: “We do not respond to the Governor of Central Darfur, but we respond to President Al-Bashir, who has instructed the killing of civilians”.

He strongly condemned the Nierteti incidents and described them as “an extension of the ongoing genocide in large parts of Sudan by the regime”.

On Monday he told Radio Dabanga that “the Nierteti massacre has united the Sudanese people through its organisations and various segments, which launched a campaign called ‘We are all Nierteti’ by all Sudanese.

Abdel Wahid said “the Nierteti martyrs are part of the martyrs of the Sudanese people and we send condolences to their families”.

Public outrage

On Sunday, the Nierteti incidents sparked outrage among people across Sudan, especially on social media WhatsApp, where they published pictures of the wounded and dead. This was accompanied by a wide-scale campaign for the Sudanese on social media under the hashtags #sudanese_blood_spilled_again and #Nertiti_massacre_darfur

The armed forces, civil political forces under Sudan Appeal, and the National Consensus Forces, in addition to the civil society organisations, have condemned the Nierteti massacre, demanded punishment, and held President Al Bashir and his government responsible, and called for its ousting in a move that united the Sudanese conscience.

Youth groups, including the Union of the Sudanese Civil Disobedience Groups and 27 of November Civil Disobedience Group have issued similar condemnation.

“Preliminary investigations conducted by the security authorities in Central of Darfur State show involvement of the SLM-AW elements in the riots that broke out yesterday in the city of Nertiti – in western Jebel Marra,” said Abdel Hakam in a press conference held in Zalingei on Monday.

He explained that on Friday they received a note that a soldier had been murdered in Campo forest and transported from the murder scene to Al-Jabal neighbourhood in order to mislead the investigation. The day after, he added, they learnt that doctor had been beaten and his money was looted. The governor further said they received intelligence saying that six SLM-AW fighters infiltrated the neighborhood, killed the soldier and attacked the doctor. Following what a joint forces from the police, the army and the national security service was dispatched on Sunday morning to arrest the six rebels, the governor said, adding that the culprits opened fires on the government forces and instigated the crowed to attack the forces. “The group intended to provoke the armed forces and cause chaos,” he stressed.

From his part, the commander of 21st infantry division, Gen. Aboud Mansour said the Sudanese army forces were keen to avoid shooting when they arrived to the area. But the inhabitants of the neighbourhood were angered and attacked the troops with sticks and knives when two children were killed by stray bullets fired from unknown sources. Abdallah Saleh al-Shafie, an IDPs representative in the area on Sunday told Sudan Tribune that the government forces in Nertiti launched an indiscriminate revenge attack on the civilians using heavy and light weapons after a soldier was found dead in the area.

Al-Shafie said that nine people were killed and 60 wounded, some of them are seriously hurt. He added that government troops looted civilian property and broke into shops in Nertiti markets. The governor said 28 men were wounded, including four policemen and 19 women, adding they were treated from their minor wounds at Zalingei Hospital and discharged on the same day. Abdel Hakam reiterated his accusation against the SLM-AW saying that the rebel group was involved in the events. The Deputy Governor Mohamed Musa Ahmed said that calm had returned to Nertiti and pledged to pay the blood-prince to the victims’ families, treat the wounded and compensate the affected people.

CONDEMNATIONS

Sudanese opposition groups condemned the killing of civilians pointing to the lack of security and the chaos in the western Sudan region. “The Sudanese regime inaugurated the new year with this heinous massacre against unarmed civilians, which led to the deaths of dozens of martyrs, besides the wounded and detainees and missing persons,” said Abdel-Wahid al-Nur in a statement he issued on Monday.

He further denounced the inertia of the UNAMID peacekeepers who didn’t intervene to protect civilians describing their attitude as the “The worst form of collusion with the Khartoum regime”.

Central Darfur counts cost of Nierteti violence

January 4 – 2017 NIERTETI

A cautious calm has reportedly returned to Nierteti following the violence that led to the death of two children, and left at least 48 people injured over the weekend.

Witnesses, including some of the wounded, told Radio Dabanga that the incident occurred when an army force, driving four Land Cruisers mounted with machine guns, stormed the town and opened fire. The attack was in response to the killing of one of the army personnel by unknown assailants in Nierteti on Friday.

On Monday, Military Intelligence released ten people who were arrested following the violence. Witnesses say that Military Intelligence also handed higher secondary school student Adam Bashar Adam to Nierteti police on charges of stabbing an army soldier. They said the student was in poor health and both hands were broken.

Shamseldin Ahmed Saleh, the Ba’ath Party official in Darfur scorned the version of events related by Central Darfur Governor, Jaafar Abdelhakam on Monday, blaming the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW). Saleh described the Governor’s version as “incorrect and misleading”.

‘Unpersuasive’

Saleh said: “The wounding of police personnel, and the government’s announcement at the highest level that the region is completely free of the rebellion, and then accusing the rebellion to justify the incidents is unpersuasive”.

The population and notables of Nierteti locality are demanding the movement of the military personnel who are stationed at the barracks and the gate leading to Nyala outside the locality. They also demand ousting of the Locality Commissioner and the army commander on the pretext that they were both involved in the incidents.

Saleh demanded “the formation of a neutral and an independent inquiry committee to investigate the incidents”. He stipulated that “the state government should not participate in the committee because it is unreasonable and lacking credibility. They themselves are accused of violations in Nierteti.”

Displaced youths

At a press conference in Zalingei on Monday, El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of the displaced people of Central Darfur, said the people detained in Nierteti by military intelligence were displaced youth and people who have nothing to do with the SLM-AW.

He told Radio Dabanga that the detainees were “innocent people arrested from their homes and workplaces in Nierteti” and demanded “the Governor of Central Darfur issue an apology for the army’s crimes in Nierteti”.

Abdallah demanded “justice for the victims and punishment for the perpetrators – not just settlement by paying blood money – treatment of the injured, and return of the stolen items.”

Also he demanded the formation of an independent inquiry committee from independent legal entities, including the Darfur Bar, Unamid, and human rights organisations, without the participation of the Central Darfur government.

Counting the cost

Calm has reportedly returned to Nierteti, although citizens are still fearful and cautious. Residents and traders whose homes and shops were looted have begun filing complaints with the police.

Radio Dabanga has heard that the government authorities have calculated blood money for the two dead schoolchildren in the incidents at SDG115,000 ($17,500) each, along with the allocation of SDG 20,000 ($3,000) to be paid for commemoration.

Witnesses said that a delegation from Khartoum arrived in Nierteti on Monday by helicopter, and immediately transferred to the headquarters of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in the city.

Bandits murder two in Darfur robbery

January 4 – 2017 FANGA / MUKJAR

Two men were shot dead by militants at Fanga, north-east of Jebel Marra on Tuesday morning.

One of the relatives of the victims told Radio Dabanga that four militants riding camels opened fire on Haroun Yousef (45) and Hamid Ibrahim (35), as they made their way back from Fanga market to their village at Dolo area. The murderers stole the men’s money, food commodities, and two donkeys.

On Tuesday the higher secondary and basic schools in Mukjar in Central Darfur opened after more than two weeks of closure because of the deterioration of the security situation after a series of incidents which led to deaths, injuries and a rape.

On Tuesday higher secondary school teachers in Mukjar told Radio Dabanga that schools were re-opened yesterday amid concern of a return to the tension in the locality again.

A woman from Mukjar said the market has been closed for more than two weeks which made shopping difficult as a result of traders’ fear of return to lawlessness and looting of the market.

Witnesses also stressed to Radio Dabanga that a government delegation was still in Mukjar carrying out ongoing negotiations with the parties to resolve the issue and return comprehensive t security to Mukjar locality.

Darfur: Committee begins investigation into Nierteti violence

January 5 – 2017 NIERTETI

The Investigation Committee, sent to Nierteti in Central Darfur from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, began its investigation on Tuesday into the violence that caused the death of two schoolchildren, and wounded at least 48 people over the weekend.

The facts Investigation Committee that came from Khartoum began its investigation into Nierteti incidents with the relevant parties on Tuesday.

According to activists and notables in Nierteti who spoke to Radio Dabanga on Wednesday, the committee from Khartoum includes representatives of the Ministries of Defence, Interior, the Security Apparatus and other Members of Parliament.

The activists said that upon arrival on Tuesday, the committee met with both the Commander of the military garrison and the Police Chief.

One of the notables said that the committee also investigated the case of student Adam Bashar Fadul (18) from Kombo Ghabat who was detained by the army on 1 January.

He said that after the committee spoke to the student, who suffered a broken hand, they ordered his release and asked him to immediately go home.

Inventory of losses

One of the activists said that the committee also received a list from the Nierteti community with the names of 57 civilians who have suffered various injuries during the incidents.

On Wednesday the committee visited the Kombo Ghabat district and met with the families of the two schoolchildren who were killed by army bullets on Sunday.

One of the notables of the district told Radio Dabanga that the committee met with the sheikhs and notables of the town where they asked the committee to move the government forces and the Commissioner out of the city.

However, the source said the committee responded by saying it is committed to the payment of blood money, treatment of the wounded, and provision of compensation for all damages, along with the pledge of the committee to bring all those who have committed offenses or crimes to justice.

He explained that after the committee’s pledge, they began an inventory of the losses and damages with the names of those affected after taking oath before the committee.

Farmer murdered by land grabbers in Central Darfur

January 5 – 2017 GARSILA

A farmer was shot dead near Garsila in Central Darfur on Wednesday when he refused to leave his farm to its ‘liberators’.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that three gunmen found Ibrahim El Sangjek tending his farm north of Garsila and ordered him to leave the farm immediately, “as the area is liberated and belongs to them”. When El Sangjek refused, they shot him dead.

He said the incident coincided with a visit by state Governor Jaafar Abdelhakam to Garsila.

(Report also in North and South Darfur)

Two dead, nine injured, three kidnapped in Darfur violence

January 16 – 2017 DARFUR

People in North, Central, and South Darfur Darfur reported a number of violent incidents over the weekend.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, an activist said that a displaced man was shot dead near Sortony in Kabkabiya locality in North Darfur on Saturday.

“A group of people living in the Sortony camp were on their way to the Rokoro Market on Saturday morning, when five gunmen suddenly began to shoot at them south of the camp.” she said.

“Ismail Adam Mohamed was killed instantly. Babikir Abdallah Mukhtar sustained serious bullet wounds and had to be taken to the Unamid clinic in Sortony.”

Stabbed to death

In Kassab camp for the displaced in Kutum locality, Arafa Mohamed Adam was murdered on Friday. “A hitherto unknown person knocked her door in the evening, and stabbed her to death,” a camp elder reported.

Beaten

In North Darfur’s Tawila locality, four women were injured in an attack on Sunday.

“Salma Ibrahim, Kaltoum Saleh, Fatima Yousef, and Aisha Abbas were collecting straw near Tabit, when five militiamen riding on camels intercepted them,” a relative of one of the victims told this station. “They severely beat them with their whips. Salma sustained various wounds on her head and Kaltoum’s hand was broken.”

He added that the Tabit military garrison was notified about the incident.

Kidnapped

A group of militiamen abducted two firewood collectors 15 kilometres south of Dubbo El Omda in Tawila locality on Sunday.

“Five members of a government militia riding on camels ambushed Nasreldin Haroun and Abdelkarim Mohamed when they collected firewood near Tirbowa village,” a relative of Haroun reported. “They took them to an unknown destination.”

Shooting

In Central Darfur, four people were injured in a shooting near Mukjar on Saturday.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that a group of seven armed men riding on donkeys opened fire at the Saraf Saada Koran school, 10 km south of Mukjar, with the purpose of stealing sorghum from its stores.

“Ahmed Bahreldin (48), Yousef Abdallah (25), Younes Osman (22), and Mohamed Ishag (21) sustained injuries, and had to be taken to Mukjar Hospital,” he said.

“People in the area managed to seize one of the attackers called Yasin Mohamed Shahad. They have handed him, together with his Kalashnikow, to the police of Mukjar.”

Released

On Sunday, South Darfur security forces managed to free Dr Abu Obeida Mahmoud, who was kidnapped in the state capital the day before.

The brother of the victim told Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen seized Mahmoud and two of his sons in front of Ansar El Sunna Mosque in Nyala on Saturday evening. “They released the boys after a distance, and took Abu Obeida to an unknown destination.”

He explained that security forces discovered that his brother was held in a house at the Nyala-Kass- Zalingei highway. “They immediately raided the house, and released Abu Obeida. He safely returned to his home in Nyala on Sunday afternoon.”

Firewood collector beaten comatose, Central Darfur

January 17 – 2017 TUR

In separate incidents in Tur in Central Darfur on Monday, three firewood collectors were assaulted and several passengers robbed of their equipment. One man is in a coma.

Gunmen attacked three men who were out collecting firewood northeast of Tur. They were beaten with rifle butts and sticks until Fadul Ibrahim Mohamed was beaten comatose. The other two injured men are Mohamad Omar and Hussein Adam Ibrahim.

Fadul is in coma in a nearby health centre, a source in the area told Radio Dabanga.

On the road between Tur and Nierteti, armed men on horses stole money, smartphones and a laptop from the driver and passengers of a motorcycle rickshaw (tuk tuk) the same day.

The bandits stole a total SDG13,700 ($2,100) at gunpoint, seven smartphones, and a laptop of one of the passengers. Among the victims are the director of the local health insurance in Tur and a mobile phone trader.

Chadian woman killed in Central Darfur

January 17 – 2017 AZUM

A Chadian woman from a refugee camp in Azum locality was killed by gunmen on Monday.

The leader of Um Shalaya camp for Chadian refugees reported today that armed men shot Maryam Ibrahim Abdallah in Bir Dala for unknown reasons. They threw her body in a water well, he told Radio Dabanga.

People from the camp recovered her body from the well, and buried Maryam Abdallah in the cemetery of the camp.

Maryam Abdallah’s hometown in Chad was Hillet Khatir, the camp leader said. Refugees from Chad have taken shelter in localities along the western border of Darfur, including several thousands in Mukjar and Um Shalaya camps.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Hijacks and raid in Central, North Darfur

January 27 – 2017 ZALINGEI / TABIT

Robberies took place in separate incidents in Darfur on Thursday. Militiamen raided a village in Tawila locality on Wednesday.

On Thursday militiamen hijacked a commercial vehicle on its way from Nierteti to Zalingei in Central Darfur, and robbed the passengers of their money and mobile phones. A witness said that the militiamen, six in total, stopped the vehicle at gunpoint in Shawa, 12 kilometres east of Zalingei.

“They forced the passengers out of the car and beat several of them up,” the witness reported. Money, mobile phones, luggage, and commercial goods were stolen. The attackers then drove off with the vehicle.

Raid

Militiamen attacked a villager during a raid in a village 10 kilometres north of Tabit in North Darfur on Wednesday.

A witness in Koushna reported that members of the Rapid Support Forces, driving two vehicles, entered the village in the evening and beat a number of villagers during their raid. This reportedly caused injuries to a number of people, including Mohamed Ibrahim who was transferred in a coma to El Fasher.

The militiamen took off with villagers’ money, and quantities of sorghum, sesame, beans, dry okra and tobacco.

Three killed in tribal fight, Central Darfur

January 27 – 2017 UM DUKHUN / EAST JEBEL MARRA

Three people were killed in a tribal clash in Central Darfur on Wednesday evening. A man was killed in Mashrou Abu Zeid.

A source in the area told Radio Dabanga that the clash between members of the Misseriya and Rizeigat tribes resulted in the death of three, including two of the Misseriya clan and a Rizeigat tribesman. The fight took place in the eastern district of Um Dukhun.

The commissioner of Um Dukhun and the native administration have made attempts to contain the situation and disperse the groups of tribesmen who are reportedly gathering in Um Dukhun.

Herdsmen shot and instantly killed a firewood collecter north of Mashrou Abu Zeid in East Jebel Marra on Thursday morning, a relative of the killed Yousif Ibrahim Yousif told Radio Dabanga.

“Three armed herdsmen riding on the backs of camels attacked Yousif and Abdelrazeg Saleh while they were on their way to the valley to collect firewood. The herdsmen wanted to seize their carts and horses,” the relative explained.

When Yousif confronted them, they shot him with three bullets in the chest, which instantly killed him. They stole the two horses from Saleh and fled the scene.

Reprisals after would-be robber dies in Central Darfur

February 8 – 2017 ZALINGEI

A member of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia was stabbed to death on Monday after allegedly attempting to rob a student of the University of Zalingei in the capital of Central Darfur.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the RSF member tried to rob the student of his mobile phone at Maureen market at Hamidiya in Zalingei. In the ensuing scuffle, the militiaman was stabbed to death. The student immediately turned himself in to the police.

Following the incident, the supporters and relatives of the dead militiaman stormed the students’ residence at the university. The police evacuated the students, after which the residence was pillaged. The mob then ransacked Maureen market.

Attacks cause new displacement from Darfur’s Jebel Marra

February 9 – 2017 SHANGIL TOBAYA

40 families representing a total of 530 people who have fled from Darfur’s East Jebel Marra arrived at camp Shaddad of Shangil Tobaya in North Darfur at the beginning of this week.

A leader of the camp told Radio Dabanga that these families came to the camp on February 2. They were fleeing militia and herder attacks on Balidy Serif, Libi, and Swanee.

The camp elder said that the new arrivals have not received any aid thus far. He said that a team from Unamid visited the newly displaced on Tuesday, and “promised to notify the humanitarian organisations to provide them with aid”.

UNSC

Resolution 2340 (2017), which was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on February 8, and extends the mandate of the Panel of Experts appointed to monitor the arms embargo in Darfur, notes that “the conflict between the Government and armed groups has mostly become limited to the Jebel Marra region.”

The Council is also “particularly concerned at the violence and insecurity that remains, including intercommunal violence, militia activity, banditry, and fighting between the government and armed groups, expressing concern that such violence and insecurity continues to negatively affect civilians and has contributed to an increase in the number of internally displaced persons.”

Central Darfur police disperse demo at Unamid base

February 17 – 2017 MUKJAR

Displaced people from Nazho and Mukjar camps in Central Darfur staged a protest outside the headquarters of Unamid on Thursday after a charcoal was killed by militiamen. Police dispersed the protest.

A tribal sheikh told Radio Dabanga that Abbas Adam Abdul Karim (37) died when armed militiamen opened fire on him as he worked, south of Mukjar.

The sheikh said that the funeral procession of displaced people took Karim’s body to the Unamid base, but that were stopped by police just metres from the Unamid gate.

“The police confiscated Karim’s body and dispersed the demonstrators by force,” he said.

‘Dozens killed’ as Sudanese militia and CAR forces clash

February 22 – 2017 FORO BARANGA / UM DUKHUN

Witnesses from Foro Baranga in West Darfur and Um Dukhun in Central Darfur told Radio Dabanga that RSF militiamen initially crossed the border into the Central African Republic.

Some callers suggest that the motives of the RSF were to prospect for gold, while others allege that they were intent of theft.

A relative of one of the dead men told Radio Dabanga that a force from the Central African Republic surrounded the RSF militia in the mountains. The RSF then contacted their leadership, who sent reinforcements on Tuesday, including more than 20 Land Cruisers, weapons and ammunition.

“The Central African forces confronted them which resulted in the death of between 60 to 100 people from both sides and wounding of dozens, along with the destruction of a number of vehicles.”

Witnesses said that rapid support militia elements were seen returning from the Central African Republic crossing Um Dukhun towards Central and West Darfur.

A woman has died of gunshot wounds after militants stormed a shop in Deleig camp for the displaced in Central Darfur on Tuesday.

One of the sheikhs of the camp told Radio Dabanga that three militants stormed the shop of Abdelrazeg Ahmed Haroun at the camp and robbed him of money and mobile phones at gunpoint.

When the neighbours ran to his rescue, one of the gunmen opened fire and instantly shot dead his 38 year- old woman neighbour Khadija Yousif Abdelkarim.

The sheikh explained that a rescue team led by a Wadi Saleh Commissioner tracked down one of the alleged perpetrators on Wednesday. He is being held at Deleig prison.

South Kordofan

On Wednesday morning two people were injured after gunmen opened fire on a vehicle traveling from Abbasiya in South Kordofan to Kosti in White Nile State.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that on Wednesday morning five gunmen opened fire on one of the vehicles at El Zaraf in South Kordofan and seriously wounded the vehicle’s assistant driver El Fateh Koku on the chest, and wounded another person. Both were taken to Kosti hospital.

He said the driver of the vehicle did not stop and continued driving despite the shooting.

People attribute the increase in armed robbery incidents in the eastern part of the state to the spread of weapons and the absence of the role of government throughout the state.

They have called for the need to extend the state’s prestige and protect people from the armed gangs.

Market raided after militiamen clash in Central Darfur capital

March 7 – 2017 ZALINGEI

Several militiamen raided Mirein market in the Central Darfur capital of Zalingei on Monday, following a clash between armed groups over a pay dispute. A joint security force had to intervene.

15 militiamen were wounded in a firefight between members of armed groups led by Hamid Ali, which concerned the groups’ monthly salaries. Several witnesses told Radio Dabanga that dissidents of one of the groups demanded salaries, which their ex-leader refused. The men exchanged fire before a joint force of army, police and security intervened.

The clash created panic among locals, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps, El Shafie Abdallah recounted from Hamidiya. “Hamid Ali’s forces arrived in Zalingei from Waranga, east of Zalingei on Friday.”

The coordinator reported that when the dissidents became aware of the non-payment of their salaries, they closed the bridge to Zalingei, “started robbing pedestrians and car drivers, and raided the nearby Mirein market”.

A joint force managed to drive the bandits out of the city at around 12pm. Two civilians and four government troops sustained injuries, El Shafie said, and were taken to the hospital in the town.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Armed robberies on Khartoum pharmacies, Kutum roads

March 13 – 2017 KHARTOUm

In Khartoum, a number of crimes occurred in residential areas on Saturday, including armed robberies on pharmacies. Several car robberies took place in Kutum locality in North Darfur.

On Saturday evening, gunmen stormed a pharmacy in Khartoum’s El Lamab, owned by Dr Anas Hussein. The robbers pointed a pistol to the face of one of the employees and ordered her to hand over all the money and her mobile phone. They fired a shot in the pharmacy and then fled using a motorcycle.

A source at the police said that the incident has been the fifth incident reported to the police on Saturday alone. Local media and newspapers have recorded three similar incidents involving theft at pharmacies in several parts of Khartoum in less than one week this March.

Robberies in Kutum

Militants hijacked two vehicles in separate incidents in Kutum locality in North Darfur on Saturday. A group of paramilitaries, driving a Land Cruiser and five motorcycles, intercepted a vehicle on its way from Kutum to Anka. This is 4 km from Amu and northwest of Kutum.

The attackers seized the medicines that driver Ahmed Babikir Osman was transporting to Anka health centre. Also the properties of all the passengers in the car were stolen.

In another incident a paramilitary group in two Land Cruisers and four motorcycles intercepted a commercial vehicle loaded with goods en route from Kutum to Farok, 2 km northwest of the town. The vehicle carried sugar, oil and other food items and was driven by Mohamed Abakar.

Insecurity and the number of attacks have grown at the hands of militias in Kutum locality, residents reported to this station last week. “Authorities have not moved to prosecute the perpetrators, despite people filing reports about such incidents to the police.”

Killing in Central Darfur

In Kitul, a village east of Deleig, gunmen opened fire on Jamal Adam Abaker Daoud and Abdelaziz Adam Abdelrahman, a listener reported to Radio Dabanga. Abaker Daoud was immediately killed and Abdelaziz sustained injuries. The reason for the attack is unknown.

UXO kills Darfur herder, women assaulted, market raided

March 15 – 2017 DOBO EL OMDA / KOBE / GILDO

A herder and his camel were killed outright when an item of unexploded ordnance (UXO) detonated in East Jebel Marra on Wednesday afternoon.

A relative of the victim told Radio Dabanga that Fadil Hamed and his camel died in the area of Dobo El Omda.

He said that the intense blast resulted “cut them both to pieces”.

Sustained conflict and aerial bombardment over the course of several years have littered Jebel Marra and other parts of Darfur and Sudan with deadly unspent explosives.

Attack

Four displaced women were injured in an attack by militants in the Kobe area north of Nierteti in Central Darfur on Monday. A relative of one of the women told Radio Dabanga that militants riding camels assaulted the group while they were collecting firewood and beat them, which caused them varying injuries.

He said 22-year-old Hawa Abdelrahman Khater suffered serious injuries and was transferred to Nierteti hospital after the incident was reported.

Also on Monday, militants stormed Sagadir market of Gildo administrative unit in Western Jebel Marra and stole goods and property from merchants, this along with stealing food for the school and teachers, furniture, books and pamphlets.

Central Darfur bandits rob shoppers, one wounded

March 17 – 2017 NIERTETI

Gunmen attacked a group of people east of Nierteti in Central Darfur on Thursday. Several sustained injuries.

The attackers, riding on horses and camels, attacked the people as they were on their way from Jebel Marra to shop in Nierteti. The victims were stripped off their clothes, one of the family members told Radio Dabanga, before being beaten.

One of them, Abdelrahman Abdelshava, was seriously wounded. The bandits took off with money, mobile phones, goods, and five donkeys.

The incident has been reported to the Nierteti police department, the family member said.

Massacre

Nierteti was the scene of an attack on civilians led by Sudanese soldiers on 31 December last year, a day after a soldier was found dead near the town. Two school students were killed by stray bullets and many people were injured. Policemen who tried to protect the people were also wounded. In the ensuing insecurity raids and robberies by armed groups took place in Nierteti market and the Northern Camp for the displaced.

Central Darfur state has already financially compensated the victims of the attacks – with ‘blood money’ – before the conclusion of the investigation, identification of any perpetrators or filing of a lawsuit. The Sudanese Minister of Defence considered the soldiers’ attack to be “a criminal case”, a statement which political analysts found an attempt “to transfer the responsibility of the armed forces to the police”.

Four camp sheikhs arrested in Central Darfur

March 22 – 2017 BINDISI

Four elders of Bindisi camp for the displaced in Central Darfur were arrested by agents of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) following a protest on Monday. The sheikhs were released later.

One of the camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that members of the security services arrested four of the Bindisi elders after 35 sheikhs protested against the presence of NISS delegates during the distribution of relief supplies on Monday.

The elders were released after women and children of the camp then gathered in front of the security offices in protest against the arrest.

Chadian forces killed in Central Darfur

March 27 – 2017 UM DUKHUN / ABECHE

Sudanese militants attacked a Chadian commissioner and killed two of his bodyguards in Sudanese territory on Friday, following the disarmament of Chadian forces. A French national has been kidnapped in Chad and reportedly taken to Sudan.

The Commissioner of the Chadian area Taisi, near the border with Central Darfur, moved with his security force into Sudanese territory, in reaction to the disarmament of Chadian policemen by Sudanese militants, a source in the area reported.

They managed to track down the perpetrators and clashed near Um Dukhun on Friday evening, resulting in the death of two Chadian bodyguards and injuring the commissioner. Of the Sudanese gunmen, two were reportedly also killed and three of them sustained injuries.

The source told Radio Dabanga that on Sunday, eight Sudanese were arrested in Um Dukhun and they have been moved to the Chadian military base in Taisi. All the wounded were transferred to a hospital.

Other tensions between Sudanese militants and foreign military forces in February led to the killing of dozens of Sudanese and Central African Republic militants near Um Dukhun in February. Members of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had reportedly crossed from Central Darfur into CAR territory to prospect for gold.

French kidnapped

The Chadian Security Minister, Ahmed Mohamed, announced that a French hostage has been kidnapped from ​​Goz Beida, south of Abeche. He claimed that the kidnappers took him to Sudan. Sudan, Chad and French intelligence forces are coordinating efforts to find the French national, said Sudan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Two dead in North Darfur road robbery

March 30 – 2017 SARAF UMRA

Two people were shot dead and two others were wounded in an armed robbery on the road between Saraf Umra and El Sareif Beni Hussein in North Darfur on Tuesday.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that five gunmen wearing military uniforms and riding motorcycles opened fire on a commercial vehicle taking people home after shopping. Yousif Idris Jumaa and Mohammad Fadl Mudwi died on the spot, while Yahya Ibrahim Haroun and Eisa Ibrahim Musa were injured.

In Central Darfur, militants shot dead Abdelatif Adam Abdeljabbar and wounded Adam Musa near Turr. A witness told Radio Dabanga that militants riding camels opened fire on a number of people on their way from Kalwa area in Western Jebel Marra to shopping which led to the death of Abdelatif and seriously wounding of Adam who was taken in a coma to Nierteti Hospital.

He said the militants then stole the shoppers’ money and killed five donkeys.

Fires erupt in three Central Darfur camps

March 31 – 2017 GARSILA

Camps for displaced people in Central Darfur have witnessed a series of fires that have destroyed the full contents of 49 homes in the past two weeks.

A Sheikh reported to Radio Dabanga that one of the fires broke out in Jebelein camp for displaced people, during which five homes were destroyed. 44 other homes were torched in Jebelein, Jeddah and Ardeba camps.

The losses have been estimated at more than SDG1 million ($149,370), the Sheikh said. “Affected people are living in the open in dire humanitarian situations.”

He has appealed to the government and organisations to provide them with the necessary support they need.

The wind and dry weather at this time of year have also caused fires in the market of Gireida and Nyala in South Darfur this week.

Five dead in traffic incident, shooting at wedding party in Darfur

April 3 – 2017 ZALINGEI / EL GENEINA

Four people were killed in a traffic accident near Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, on Saturday. A woman died and two others were injured in a shooting in a West Darfur village. On Sunday, a man was shot on his farm near Zalingei.

On Saturday evening, a commercial transport van coming from the West Darfur capital of El Geneina overturned in front of the western entrance to Zalingei, El Shafee Abdallah, Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps for the displaced, reported to Radio Dabanga.

On the same evening, a woman was killed, and two others were injured at a wedding party in Um El Gura village, 3 km south of El Geneina.

One of the guests told Radio Dabanga that the bridegroom’s brother fired into the air with a gun to welcome the occasion. A woman was fatally hit by the bullets. Two others sustained injuries, and had to be taken to a hospital in El Geneina.

Water pump

Two herders shot 60 year-old farmer Siddig Mohamed Nur at his farm at Shawa village east of Zalingei on Sunday morning.

“After they shot him, they took the water engine at his farm, and left the place,” the Central Darfur camps coordinator reported. “He was transferred in serious condition to Zalingei Hospital.”

French hostage ‘spotted in Central Darfur’

April 9 – 2017 WADI SALIH

Residents of the Um Kheir administration unit in Central Darfur’s Wadi Salih locality claim they have seen the Frenchman who was kidnapped in eastern Chad ilast month.

The witnesses told Radio Dabanga that they saw the captive and his abductor, Yousif Guttiya, nicknamed Kabro, having a meal at the Um Kheir market on Wednesday.

They said that Guttiya and his militiamen moved around on their motorcycles, transferring the French hostage from team to team.

The Chad Minister of Security Affairs, Ahmed Mohamed, announced on 23 March that a Frenchman was kidnapped from the area of Goz Beida, south of Abeche in eastern Chad. The kidnappers reportedly fled with him to Sudan.

End March, people in Habila in West Darfur told this station that the French hostage was sighted in the mountains in the area, together with Guttiya and five other militiamen riding motorcycles.

Border Guards

Guttiya is currently commander of the paramilitary Border Guards.

A source from the capital of West Darfur reported in March that Guttiya signed a peace deal with the West Darfur government in 2013, after he and his men split from a rebel group. The source attributed most of the attacks, robberies, and kidnaps in the region, including the abduction of three UNHCR staff members from El Geneina last year, to Guttiya and his men.

Three killed in tribal clash in Central Darfur

April 10 – 2017 UM DUKHUN

At least three Misseriya tribesmen were killed in a clash with Salamat in Um Dukhun in Central Darfur on Sunday.

The clash was triggered by the theft of 36 goats from Maraya village, 20 kilometres east of Um Dukhun town, a listener told Radio Dabanga.

“A Misseriya search posse to trace the stolen goats, and though they did not find the animals, they managed to capture two of the thieves who turned out to be Salamat tribesmen.

“On Sunday, the search team went out again, but this time they were ambushed by a large group of Salamat gunmen. They came from the area of Kabar with the purpose of freeing their fellow tribesmen who were captured by the Salamat. In the ensuing fire-fight, three Misseriya, among them an omda, were killed,” he said.

UXO blast claims young Darfur brothers

April 13 – 2017 EAST JEBEL MARRA

Two young brothers were killed on Wednesday when an unexploded grenade they found detonated at Rogli in East Jebel Marra.

A relative of the dead boys told Radio Dabanga that Hamouda (7) and Mohammed Ibrahim (11) were driving some goats to graze in the area of Rogli west of Kotor.

One of the brothers reportedly found a grenade, picked it up, and stated playing with it. Both boys were killed instantly.

Years of conflict have left Darfur and other war-torn areas of Sudan littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO). Radio Dabanga appeals to listeners throughout the region (and elsewhere in our reception area) not to touch any ‘unexploded’ grenades or other ammunition found in the field. Mark its position clearly to alert others, and report it immediately to a camp elder, Unamid and/or the local police.

Guard killed in attack on ex-rebel leader in Central Darfur

April 17 – 2017 ZALINGEI

The head of a Darfur rebel breakaway faction survived an assassination attempt in Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, on Saturday. One of his guards was killed.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that unidentified gunmen tried to break into the house of former rebel leader Abu Jamal Khalil, in the Karanik district in Zalingei on Saturday evening.

“Khalil’s guards resisted, and in the ensuing gunfight one of them was killed,” he said. “Another guard and civilian named Hamoudi El Hadi Darajat were injured.”

Khalil is the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-General Command, who, together with other high-level commanders, defected from Abdelwahid El Nur’s mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) in early November last year. After two days of negotiations with the authorities of Central Darfur, they signed the Korona peace agreement with the state government in Zalingei on 6 November.

Splits

The SLM-AW, that, together with the Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against the Khartoum government in 2002-03, has witnessed a number of splits. The largest one was the breakaway of a group led by Minni Minawi in 2006. They were divided on the issue of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

In 2013-14, other smaller groups defected: the Liberation Movement for Justice (LMJ-TH), led by El Taher Hajar, SLM-Unity, led by Abdallah Yahya, and the SLM-Second Revolution (SLM-SR) under the command of Abulgasim Imam El Haj.

Last Friday, the Governor of Central Darfur, announced the defection of a SLM-AW group, led by Abdellatif Abdelhamid (nicknamed Tulus).

In a press conference on Friday in Zalingei, Governor Gaafar Abdelhakam said that his government is in contact with the other SLM-AW commanders, to convince them to join the peace process. “Armed resistance does not work anymore,” he said.

Last year, the Sudanese government scored major military successes against the SLM-AW in Jebel Marra. According to the government, no more than 300 SLM-AW fighters are still in the region as of early 2017. While fighting between government forces and Darfur rebels has not occurred in recent months, attacks against displaced people by militiamen and outlaws continue.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) are reportedly now mainly based in Libya and South Sudan.

Sudan Tribune

19 people killed in fresh Jebel Marra clashes

April 26, 2017 (ZALINGEI) – Almost 19 people have been reportedly killed during clashes between the fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) and government militia who tried to sneak into Torang Tora area in Nertiti locality, Central Darfur State. Last year, the government claimed that its forces defeated the SLM-AW fighters but admitted the existence of some rebel pockets in the mountainous Jebel Marra area. Also since last December, the Sudanese authorities have authorised aid groups to reach needy civilians to provide them with the humanitarian assistance.

However, since several days reports from the area mentioned a growing tension between the government’s forces and the SLM-AW insurgents who are not part of a unilateral cessation of hostilities between the Sudanese army and holdout rebel groups. Saleh Ali Abakar, a local humanitarian official at Hamediya camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Wednesday told Sudan Tribune that the clashes occurred Saturday when the rebels clashed with armed militiamen riding camels and horses backed by three heavily armed four-wheel-drive vehicles in Torang Tora area, 80 km south-east of Zalingei.

The IDPs representative said they learnt that 19 government militiamen were killed, adding that government forces during their withdrawal from the area burned three villages: Kutur, Tebin Foka and Tordi. He further stressed that over 71 families fled the mountainous area and they are in critical conditions, calling for urging humanitarian intervention to provide the needed assistance. An official from the hybrid peacekeeping mission who requested anonymity told Sudan Tribune they didn’t yet receive any report on the clashes. He further added they would launch an investigation once they got it.

‘Nine dead in RSF militia attacks on 12 Darfur villages’

May 8 – 2017 ZALINGEI

At least nine people were reportedly killed, 22 others were injured, and four were raped in attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on western Jebel Marra on Sunday. A Central Darfur official has denied the incidents.

“At about 7 am on Sunday, elements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) driving 41 Land Cruisers loaded with weapons, and others on camels and horses began to attack 12 villages north of Nierteti,” El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of the camps for the displaced in Central Darfur, told Radio Dabanga.

“Nine villagers were shot dead, four young women were gang-raped, and at least 22 people were injured,” he reported. “Before torching the houses, they stole all the property. They cut and burned even the lemon trees.”

The camp coordinator said that the entire population of the villages fled into the mountains, “as the roads leading to Nierteti are blocked by the militiamen”.

‘Secure and stable’

A Central Darfur government official denied the attacks took place.

“Reports about RSF attacks on Jebel Marra villages are sheer lies,” he told this station. “The Jebel Marra region is currently experiencing security and stability it has not witnessed for more than 13 years.”

He pointed to the recovery of the activities at the markets in and around Golo, high on the Jebel Marra mountain. “More than 10 convoys of lorries carrying commodities arrive there each week without being subjected to any assaults or thefts.”

(Report also in North Darfur)

Robbery: man killed, mother and children abducted, Central Darfur

May 9 – 2017 NIERTETI / KORMA

Gunmen killed a man and abducted a woman and her two children as they returned from shopping in Central Darfur on Sunday evening. Four people abducted on Friday in Korma, North Darfur, have not yet been released by their captors.

The incident took place as a group of people, including Idris Suleiman Hamid, a woman and her children returned from shopping in Mara to Nierteti in the evening. Four gunmen, riding horses, dispersed the group by opening fire into the air, a witness told Radio Dabanga on Monday.

Hamid was killed by an injury to his head. The attackers took the women and her two children, and 15 donkeys that were carrying goods. The whereabouts of the abducted people are unknown.

Korma abduction

Last Friday, gunmen driving four Land Cruisers kidnapped four men from the market in Korma. Sources in Korma and Kutum told Radio Dabanga that the victims are taken to Amo, west of Kutum, for unknown reasons.

The abducted people are Adam Mohamed Saleh from Dembi village, Ibrahim Mohamed Abdallah Jeldak, Ibrahim Ali Ahmed from Kiro, and Abdallah Abakar from Tila. One of the relatives of the kidnapped expressed concern that they might be tortured or ill-treated.

Last Friday, information reached this station that two people were abducted from Korma market but updated reports state another two men were abducted.

Displaced people in camps in Darfur feel they are facing pressure to leave the camps while health issues continue to emerge. The government is preparing plans to dismantle the camps.

Yesterday, community elders from various camps reported to Radio Dabanga that the camps witness the spread of diabetes, blood pressure issues and mental illnesses among camp residents. They said these are caused “by the horrors of war, the living conditions and the economic crisis”.

One of the sheikhs of camp Murnei, in West Darfur, told this station that seventeen people had a leg amputated in the camp because of diabetes-related complications. About 20 people reportedly suffer from mental illness.

He called on the humanitarian authorities and organisations to provide health care and the necessary medical and psychological support, especially to the patients.

Continued announcements of the Sudanese government and the recent declaration of the US military attaché in Khartoum about the improved security situation in the region are signs of a campaign to increase the numbers of voluntary returnees from the camps to their areas of origin. While the majority of displaced long to return, reports of militiamen with their families occupying the abandoned villages and farms continue to emerge.

Poor hospitals

Meanwhile people in Zalingei, Central Darfur, are witnessing an increase in medicine prices, poor medical services, poor hospital environment, and a lack of life-saving medicines in the emergency sections.

Yesterday one of the residents told Radio Dabanga that no maintenance is done in the city’s hospital, and dirty wards, toilets, and broken fans cause mosquitoes to breed.

“Patients in the hospital suffer from their disease, but also the lack of medicine and high prices in the pharmacies.”

He called on the state authorities to expedite the sanitation of the hospital environment, maintenance of wards, improvement of hygiene standards and also to provide more medicine to the state.

Sudan Tribune

New waves of displacement reported in Central Darfur

May 9, 2017 (NERTITI) – Hundreds of civilians have fled their villages in Darfur’s Jebel Marra area following fresh attacks by Sudanese government militiamen forces, said a local representative of displaced persons. On 26 April, the holdout rebel group Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) said they clashed with the government militia near Nertiti locality, Central Darfur State. In statements to Sudan Tribune, IDPs coordinator in Central Darfur State el-Shafei Abdallah claimed that militiamen wearing military uniforms and riding four-wheel-drive vehicles and camels recently attacked 122 villages in Jebel Marra. He said the attacks included several villages in the locality of Guldo and eastern part of Nertiti, adding that nine people mostly women and children were killed and their belongings were looted. He said the government has failed to stop the attacks by the armed militias pointing that the new waves of displacement refute the “state government’s repeated lies about the voluntary return in the state”.

In a related development, Adam Abdalla Ishaq, the deputy president of IDPs and refugees association, said more than 410 families (2800 people) fled to Nertiti and Guldo on Monday and called on aid groups to provide them with food and shelter saying they are in poor conditions. Ishaq blamed the government saying it encouraged the return of the IDPs to their villages and pledged to protect them.

Deadly tribal strife after omda’s son slain in Central Darfur

May 18 – 2017 UM DUKHUN

Several people have died, and an as yet unknown number injured following violent clashes between Misseriya and Salamat tribesmen on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the clashes erupted in the Maraya area of Um Dukhun in Central Darfur after El Goni El Tahir Bahar, the son of the Omda of the Salamat, was gunned-down at Um Dukhun market by unknown assailants on Tuesday evening.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that yesterday the hospital received the bodies of three dead, and two wounded Misseriya tribesmen.

They said that more clashes ensued yesterday at Maraya area, but no casualty figures have been ascertained yet. The situation in the area as very tense.

They called on the Um Dukhun locality authorities, the state government, and native administrations to intervene immediately to end the clashes and contain the situation.

Tension

Clashes between the two groups are not unusual. Last month, at least three Misseriya tribesmen died in the same area, following clashes that erupted over the theft of goats.

Deadly tribal clash erupts in Bindisi

May 19 – 2017 BINDISI / ED DAEIN

Renewed fighting erupted between members of the Salamat and Misseriya tribes on Friday, southwest of Bindisi in Central Darfur. In East Darfur, a military force chased and clashed with a criminal gang.

Majali, Amar Hadid, Urang, and Bir Bakar were the scene of new fighting between tribesmen. Several eye-witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga from Bindisi that the number of dead and wounded has not been ascertained yet.

Some of the wounded were transferred to the hospitals in Foro Baranga and Jagma.

“The clashes continued until sunset on Friday,” one of the witnesses said. He reported that a number of people have left their villages in fear of more violence.

“The fighters used Land Cruisers, heavy weapons and machine guns. One of the leaders of a pro-government militia, named Abaker Bilanazal, was killed in the fighting,” the witness claimed.

Listeners in Um Dukhun locality, where the clashes between Salamat and Misseriya initially started on Tuesday and Wednesday, said that armed men torched and raided three villages: Maraya, Magola, and Suf Elbin. The villages were inhabited by people of the Masalit.

In Maraya the fighting erupted after the son of the Omda of the Salamat, was gunned-down at Um Dukhun market by unknown assailants. Last month, at least three Misseriya tribesmen died in the same area, following clashes that erupted over the theft of goats.

Soldiers, gang clash

A clash between Sudanese soldiers and a criminal gang resulted in the killing of nine people in northern Ed Daein locality, East Darfur, on Thursday.

A military force hunted the criminal gang that committed raids and road robberies in the area. The force was tasked to eliminate them. The groups clashed near the water station of Shagtabeldi.

A journalist in East Darfur, Khalifa Kushayb, said that eight Sudanese soldiers were killed in the fighting and one gang member. A total of twelve people sustained injuries, including eight soldiers who were taken to Khartoum for treatment.

Troops deployed as 50+die in Central Darfur tribal clashes

May 25 – 2017 UM DUKHUN

Security forces were mobilised to separate warring members of the Misseriya and Salamat tribes in Um Dukhun this week, after at least 50 people died in renewed clashes on Monday and Tuesday.

The state security committee intervened and separated the fighters yesterday after more than a week of fighting that led to the killing and displacement of dozens and destruction of villages.

Sources from Um Dukhun locality told Radio Dabanga that on Saturday more than 40 Salamat were killed and others were wounded while at least two Misseriya were killed and eight wounded at Salili area on Tuesday.

The sources said on Wednesday the security committee and the state reconciliation committee reached Um Dukhun with a force of 16 vehicles where they managed to separate the fighters.

The situation in the area has been tense for several weeks. Previous clashes surrounded the murder of an omda’s son, and the alleged theft of goats.

Tribal tensions close Central Darfur market

May 26 – 2017 BINDISI

Tensions between the Salamat and Misseriya tribes in Bindisi locality, Central Darfur, led to the closing of markets and government institutions yesterday. “People fled to their homes.”

Public transportation stopped in the area and the weekly market closed on Thursday, in anticipation of renewed fighting between the warring tribes.

An eyewitness in Bindisi town told Radio Dabanga that groups of Salamat or Misseriya tribesmen arrived in the vicinity of the town, coming from a northern and southern direction.

“Army and police forces have been deployed at the market, government facilities, the hospital and the main entrances to Bindisi,” according to the witness. Seventeen trucks, on their way from Foro Baranga to Omdurman, as well as two passenger buses en route to Nyala were held and inspected.

“The situation is tense and people are in fear of the tensions to escalate.” Areas in Bindisi were the scene of fighting between the Misseriya and Salamat on Friday 19 May with an as of yet unknown number of dead and wounded.

At least 50 people died in renewed clashes in Um Dukhun locality on Monday and Tuesday, after more than a week of fighting that led to the killing and displacement of dozens and destruction of villages.

Seven wounded in Darfur robberies

June 9 – 2017 ZALINGEI / TAWILA

Six people were wounded in a road robbery in Zalingei city on Thursday. A boy was shot and robbed of his cattle in Tawila locality.

Militiamen opened fire on a commercial vehicle on its way from Nyala to Zalingei. The owner of the vehicle exchanged gunfire with the perpetrators, causing panic among displaced people nearby, said Central Darfur camps coordinator Shafi Abdallah.

He told Radio Dabanga that two of the six wounded were in a critical situation and taken to Nyala hospital for treatment.

In Tawila locality in North Darfur, gunmen shot a young herder and stole his livestock on Thursday evening. A listener told this station that Ibrahim Mohamed Suleiman was herding cattle in Murtal, in the area known as East Jebel Marra, in the evening when seven armed men on camels fired shot in the air and surrounded him.

The attackers shot Mohamed Suleiman before stealing about 350 animals.

Khazan Tunjur has witnessed a couple of attacks on nomads and herders in the past two months. At the beginning of April, the handcuffed bodies of seven nomads, who had been kidnapped by cattle thieves in March, were found shot dead in Khazan Tunjur in Tawila. Two herders were wounded in a cattle rustling incident on 23 April.

Woman dies, driver injured in Central Darfur rickshaw attack

June 14 – 2017 ZALINGEI / TAWILA

A woman was killed and a driver injured when gunmen opened fire on a motor rickshaw in the Central Darfur capital of Zalingei on Sunday evening.

El Shafee Abdallah, the Coordinator of Central Darfur camps for the displaced told Radio Dabanga that Maryam Mohamed Arbab was a passenger in the rickshaw, owned and driven by Muawya Yagoub, on the road between the farms south of Zalingei and camp El Hasahisa, where they both live.

A group of gunmen, allegedly members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, opened fire on the rickshaw, killing Arbab instantly. Yagoub was wounded in the attack.

Abdallah called on the authorities to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to trial.

He also demanded the disarming of the RSF militias and securing of the roads.

Tawila

On Monday gunmen intercepted two trucks carrying passengers and goods coming from Fanga market in Tawila locality on their way to El Fasher. in North Darfur.

Passengers recounted that the incident took place when three vehicles mounted with machineguns with markings of the RSF intercepted them at El Aradeib El Ashara area. The gunmen ordered the passengers to get off and hand over their mobile phones and all the money in their possession.

One of the passengers said the passengers were more than 100, all of whom were subjected to robbery despite being accompanied by a protection guard.

Two die in attack on Central Darfur Minister’s car

June 15 – 2017 ZALINGEI

Two people died and one was wounded in an attack on the car of Central Darfur Health Minister Mousa Ahmed Khater yesterday.

A statement issued by the Central Darfur press office said gunmen ambushed the Minister’s vehicle in the area of El Mashrou, east of El Sisi camp, 30 kilometres west of Central Darfur capital Zalingei, and fired a barrage of bullets.

The Minister’s brother, as well as a bodyguard, died on the scene. The driver was seriously injured.

The statement says that the Minister was returning from a visit to El Geneina, capital of West Darfur.

Seven shoppers abducted in Central Darfur

June 15 – 2017 NIERTETI

Seven people were abducted by armed militiamen in Central Darfur today after an attack on shoppers on their way to Nierteti.

Witnesses told Dabanga radio that armed militiamen riding camels and horses attacked a group of civilians who were on their way from Jebel Marra to Nierteti for shopping.

Unknown gunmen abduct 16 people in South Darfur
June 23, 2017 (NYALA) – A tribal militia on Thursday has kidnapped sixteen people at Kator area in the locality of East Jebel Marra, South Darfur state, said Native Administration chief on Friday. The traditional leader from the Fur tribe Mohamed Hassan Abakar told Sudan Tribune that camel herder militiamen have ambushed a Land Rover vehicle and abducted all 16 passengers onboard at Kator area, saying they have been taken to an unknown destination. He added the militia demanded to retrieve 85 heads of camel stolen by rebel elements from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur before releasing the hostages, saying the rebels took the stolen camels up the Jebel Marra mountain. Abakar pointed out that the abductees are unarmed civilians and have nothing to do with the stolen camels, saying the responsibility to retrieve the camels rests with the state government.

He demanded the militia to release the abductees immediately, warning against causing any harm to them.

The tribal chief further called on South Darfur government to assume its responsibilities in the liberation of the hostages. Jebel Marra, which spans over three states including North, Central and South Darfur, was the theatre of clashes last year between the government forces and the SLM-AW.

(Report also in North Darfur)

‘Rapid Support Forces attacked civilians in Darfur’: African Centre

June 25 – 2017 NEW YORK

Between 28 May and 15 June, members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other government sponsored militias targeted people in North and Central Darfur.

The attacks took place from 28 May-6 June 2017 in the area of Ein Siro in North Darfur, on 14-15 June in Tur and Nierteti in southern Jebel Marra. At least 35,000 people were displaced, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) states in a report on Thursday.

The attacks came after fighting broke out between the RSF, Sudan’s largest militia that stands under command of President Al Bashir since January this year, and Darfuri rebel groups. However, there is no rebel presence in any of the villages attacked, ACJPS confirmed.

Dozens of villagers were killed and others were injured in the attacks. In southern Jebel Marra, ten women were abducted from Tur on 14 June and seven men were abducted from Nierteti the next day. Their whereabouts remain unknown, raising serious concerns for their safety and well-being, as well as for the risk for sexual violence.

Ein Siro

At 6 am on 28 May, an unidentified government militia and the RSF in more than one hundred vehicles attacked a number of villages in the area of Ein Siro locality. At least 12 people were killed and ten were injured.

The following day, seven villages in Ein Siro, including Farang, Furokat, and Abdelshakour, were set on fire by members of the RSF and other militiamen on motorcycles and camels. They plundered markets and homes, and seized the livestock in 17 villages.

On 1 June, residents of four villages in Ein Siro were robbed by unidentified militiamen as they returned to their villages to check on their homes and belongings.

Three days later, the villages Dilibah El Kebeer and Dilibah El Segheer, west of Kutum, were plundered. On 6 June, militiamen attacked the markets of Delibat near Ein Siro. A number of livestock was stolen from the area on 4 and 5 June.

According to ACJPS, the entire population of the 50 villages of Ein Siro, roughly 30,000 people, have been reportedly displaced to Kutum and the surrounding mountains.

Jebel Marra

The Centre reports that at least 5,000 people were displaced by attacks by the RSF and an unidentified government sponsored militia on Tur and Nierteti on 14 and 15 June.

On 14 June, the village of Tur was raided and plundered. Three men were killed, and ten women were abducted. The women’s whereabouts are still unknown, ACJPS states.

On 15 June, a joint force of RSF, Border Guards, and militiamen riding horses and camels attacked six villages in Rokoro. They plundered the markets and homes, and seized the livestock in the area. Later that day, the same militiamen attacked the area of Nierteti area, and abducted seven men.

Investigation

ACJPS urges the Sudanese government “to immediately put in place measures to protect civilians in North Darfur and Central Darfur, and respect customary international law obligations regarding internal armed conflicts which prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians, indiscriminate attacks on civilians even where there may be armed elements amongst civilians [..]”.

Khartoum should as well repeal all legal provisions granting immunities to police officers, members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the RSF.

ACJPS calls on Unamid to fulfil its mandate to contribute to the protection of civilian populations under imminent threat of physical violence, and prevent attacks against civilians within its capability and areas of deployment.

ACJPS further appeals to the international community, particularly the USA, EU, and AU, “to publicly and privately press the Sudanese government to meet its legal obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, and end deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, torture, rape and looting.

“The Sudanese government should ensure unfettered access by Unamid peacekeepers and humanitarian actors to all parts of Darfur including those most affected by conflict.”

Background

In 2015 the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan characterized Khartoum’s strategy in Darfur as one of “collective punishment” and “induced or forced displacement” of communities from which the armed opposition groups are believed to come or operate. The majority of people in Ein Siro belong to the Zaghawa tribe, while Jebel Marra is mainly populated by the Fur. Both have been “particularly targeted by the Sudanese government since the outbreak of the conflict in 2003”.

As for Sudan’s largest militia, “the RSF now functions as a regular force of the Government of Sudan, following the passage of the 2016 Rapid Support Forces Act, which integrates the RSF into the armed forces of the country, and provides for the commander of the RSF to be appointed by the President. The RSF has led a number of brutal counterinsurgency campaigns, supported by aerial bombardment, against civilian populations since their creation in mid-2013”.

In its report, the African Centre as well points to the “millions of Euros” the EU is providing Sudan “to combat migration flows from the Horn of Africa to Europe.

“These funds are likely to trickle down to Sudanese forces such as the RSF through the Government of Sudan’s administration of the fund, and be used for small arms and weapons,” ACJPS warns.

Central Darfur raid, smuggler killed

June 29 – 2017 SHATAYA / EL GENEINA

In a raid on a village in Central Darfur on Monday, several people were wounded and robbed. A clash between smugglers and an anti-smuggling force near El Geneina in West Darfur resulted in the killing of one of the culprits.

On Monday evening, a number of the residents of Bau village, north of Shataya, were wounded when gunmen attacked Bau and stole people’s property, belongings and food.

Several victims spoke to Radio Dabanga and said that the attackers, riding camels and horses, attacked at 9 p.m. and opened fire inside Bau. Villagers sustained varying gunshot wounds. Reportedly ten villagers were in serious condition, and four of them were transferred to Nyala for treatment.

The attackers stole money, property and mobile phones, and torched a number of houses, another eye-witness said. “An assembled group of locals from Shataya seized two of the perpetrators in a settlement near the village.”

El Geneina

On Wednesday, a gunman was killed and two others were wounded in a clash with an anti-smuggling force west of El Geneina in West Darfur. A source in the area said that the anti-smuggling force opened fire on a vehicle that carried fuel on the way to Chad. One of the smugglers was killed and two others wounded.

State Governor Fadel El Mawla El Haja, the military commander of Sudan’s 15th Infantry and the commander of the security and police forces rushed to the site. The smugglers managed to threaten them to hand over a vehicle with fuel, and fled the scene.

The situation remains very tense in the area, the source reported.

Sudan army attacks Darfuris after killing of rapist in Jebel Marra

June 30 – 2017 GOLO

Members of the military garrison of Golo in Central Darfur’s Jebel Marra besieged the area on Thursday following the killing of a soldier who, together with others, raped a group of women.

“On Thursday morning, army soldiers raped a number of women who were collecting water at a well near Golo in Rokoro locality,” El Shafee Abdallah, Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps told Dabanga Radio.

“While they were raping the women, people in the area rushed to the scene and beat the rapists with sticks and stones, killing one of them, and wounding others. The soldiers fled back to the military garrison of Golo. The army troops then besieged the area, and terrorised the people with a barrage of missiles and bullets,” he reported.

“They raided houses, shops, and even the market, and robbed the people of their belongings. They forced a large number of donkey cart owners to transport the stolen goods to the garrison,” the camp coordinator said. The people who were able to escape sought shelter in mountain caves and valleys.

He called the army attack on unarmed citizens “a very serious incident that needs a transparent and urgent investigation”.

“We also call on human rights organisations, Unamid, and other UN agencies to treat the wounded, treat the victims, return the stolen property, and prosecute the criminals, including the commissioner of Rokoro and the commander of the garrison,” he said.

Violence in Darfur: Farmer killed, two herders abducted

July 3 – 2017 FANGA / UM DUKHUN

On Saturday, a farmer was killed at his land west of Fanga in North Darfur. The situation in Central Darfur’s Um Dukhun has become tense after the abduction of two Misseriya tribesmen.

Mohamed Ismail, a 41-year-old farmer, was shot dead at his land in Karkaro village, 12 km west of Fanga, in eastern Jebel Marra in Tawila locality on Saturday.

A relative of the victim reported to Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen on camels shot Ismail while he was tending his farm. “They then took his donkey and left the place,” he said.

“So many farmers have been killed or chased away from their lands in Tawila locality already, that it clear they want to get rid of the farmers in eastern Jebel Marra,” the relative added.

Tribal tension

On Saturday afternoon, people in Um Dukhun appealed to the Central Darfur authorities to act immediately to contain the growing tension between Misseriya and Salamat tribesmen in the area.

The relative calm between the two tribes was disturbed when two Misseriya on motorcycles went to Souri “to observe the movements of the Salamat” in the area.

“The Salamat captured the two scouts and when they did not respond to demands to release them, militant Misseriya began to gather in the area,” a listener reported. “We requested the Central Darfur Peaceful Coexistence Committee to immediately intervene to prevent new clashes.”

In end May, at least 50 people were killed in clashes between the two rival tribes in Um Dukhun. More than 750 families fled their homes.

Central Darfur displaced call on Unamid to aid Golo victims

July 3 – 2017 ZALINGEI

The Displaced and Refugees Secretariat in Central Darfur has called on the UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (Unamid) to provide urgent aid to the victims of army attacks in Rokoro locality.

El Shafee Abdallah, the Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps, told Radio Dabanga that the leaders of the Displaced and Refugees Secretariat paid an official visit to the peacekeepers team in Zalingei on Saturday.

“We informed the mission of the poor humanitarian situation facing the people sheltering in mountain caves and in the valleys after attacks by government forces on Thursday,” he said.

“Therefore, we urged them to send a team to the area of Golo, and assess the needs for protection and humanitarian assistance of the people hiding in the neighbourhood.”

On Thursday, army soldiers of the garrison of Golo raped a group of women who were drawing water from a well near the town. People in the area came to their rescue, and beat the rapists with sticks and stones. They killed one of them, and wounded several others.

In response, army troops attacked villages in the area and robbed the people of their belongings.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Strike after woman beaten in South Darfur hospital

July 4 – 2017 GARSILA / GIREIDA

An employee of a hospital in Central Darfur was beaten by a militiaman on Sunday, prompting her co-workers to enter into a general strike the next day.

The militia member severely beat the hospital worker in the hospital of Garsila on Sunday. The assault sparked her colleagues to stop working in protest of the violence, a visitor in the hospital told Radio Dabanga.

In October 2016, cases of abuse of medical personnel spiked a nationwide strike of doctors in hospitals throughout Sudan. They demanded the improvement of the working environment, provision of aides, and protection of hospital employees during their work.

Farmer wounded

On Monday morning, farmer Dalil Ibrahim was wounded in a shooting by a herder at Um Gantoura area in South Darfur. Other farmers told Radio Dabanga yesterday that the shooting took place 10 km east of Gireida, when a farmer tried to force livestock out of his farm. An armed herder shot him.

A farmer said that Dalil was taken in a serious condition to Nyala Hospital after filing the incident to the police in Gireida.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Killings, hijack in South Darfur, Jebel Marra

July 16 – 2017 NYALA / FALLUJA

On Thursday, a soldier was shot dead in the South Darfur capital of Nyala. The shooter surrendered to the police. In North Darfur, herders killed a woman farmer on Friday.

“Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldier El Rasheed Gasim was shot dead in the El Jeer district,” an uncle of the victim reported to Radio Dabanga. “He and his comrade from the RSF had a heated argument with a man in front of his home in El Jeer. The man then took his gun and shot El Rasheed dead on the spot.”

He added that the killer “immediately handed himself over to the police”.

On Thursday afternoon, a group of gunmen hijacked a Toyota at the El Geneina market in Nyala.

“The janjaweed stopped the driver of the Toyota that belongs to the Nyala locality. They ordered him to disembark at gunpoint, and took the car with them to an unknown destination,” he said.

Eastern Jebel Marra

Sara Yahya Juma was killed on Friday afternoon in Falluja in North Darfur’s Tawila locality, popularly known as eastern Jebel Marra.

“Sara was tending her farm when two armed herders on camels appeared who untied her donkey. When she protested, they shot her dead,” another farmer reported to this station.

Sudan Tribune

Two police officers killed by unknown gunmen in C. Darfur

July 16, 2017 (ZALINGEI) – Two police officers on Saturday evening were killed by unknown gunmen who carjacked an ambulance coming from Central Darfur state capital, Zalingei. In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday, the government of Central Darfur said gunmen have carjacked an ambulance belonging to Nirtiti Hospital as it was coming back from Zalingei. The statement pointed that the ambulance was intercepted by gunmen at Shawa area, saying the gunmen shot at the ambulance killing two police officers immediately. However, an army force stationed at Waringa area pursued the perpetrators and managed to retrieve the ambulance after three hours.

Central Darfur shootings leave five dead, two injured

July 17 – 2017 ZALINGEI / DELEIG / NIERTETI

Five people, including two police officers, were shot dead and two others sustained bullet wounds in separate incidents in Central Darfur on Saturday.

In the area of Shawa in Zalingei locality, two police officers were killed by gunmen, as they tried to prevent the theft of an ambulance.

The Central Darfur authorities reported in a press statement on Sunday that the ambulance had transported a woman from Nierteti to Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, and was on its way back, when a group of gunmen intercepted the vehicle.

“They immediately shot dead the two policemen guarding the ambulance,” a resident of Zalingei confirmed to this station.

The Central Darfur authorities as well reported that a group of gunmen stole a police car in the area of Shawa on Friday morning. The vehicle was on its way from Nyala, capital of South Darfur, to Zalingei.

Police forces managed to recover the car a few hours later.

No reason

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a witness reported that two army soldiers from the garrison east of Deleig, “suddenly and without any reason”, began to fire at seven young men in the town.

“Saad Adam Ismail, the son of the mayor of Deleig was hit,” he said.

“A team was formed that hunted down the culprits. In the ensuing gunfight, a member of the team was shot dead, and not much later the two soldiers as well, after their ammunition had run out.”

He added that the market of Deleig remained closed on Sunday “as a precautionary measure by the locality’s security committee”.

Nierteti

In Nierteti, a displaced man was shot by a member of the armed forces on Saturday morning.

The incident occurred near the Southern Nierteti camp, when two army soldiers stopped Adam Idris Abaker for an unknown reason.

“Abaker refused, and when they wanted to halt him by force, he took his knife, and stabbed one of the soldiers,” a camp elder reported. “His colleague then fired three bullets at him.”

Abaker was taken to the hospital of Nierteti.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Police detain, block South Darfur market strikers

July 21 – 2017 KASS

Shop owners in Kass, South Darfur, refused to open their doors for the fourth day in a row. Security service members tried to break their strike by apprehending residents and blocking shop doors.

The continued abduction of merchant Adam Abdallah, who was kidnapped by militiamen on Sunday, sparked the protest. Northern Kass locality witnessed three separate abductions this month, all of which involved ransom.

Sources in Kass reported that the strike was continued on Thursday, while police and security service put pressure on the shop owners. Security agents closed the doors of a number of shops in the market with padlocks, without notifying the owners.

Policemen detained several residents and merchants. A man named Shummein was detained for four hours, a source said.

A crowd of people held a sit-in in protest against the insecurity in the area and the abductions at the house of Amir Tijani yesterday. The protest coincided with the arrival of the new loclity commissioner who addressed the crowd. He listened to the complaints about the repeated kidnappings and deprivation of the displaced people.

People also complained about the issues for farmers, in particular north of Kass, were herders reportedly let their cattle graze too early in the harvest season and repated abductions take place.

Several witnesses speaking to Radio Dabanga accused the security service to be behind the frequent abdutions. An activist claimed: “The security apparatus causes crises, especially in the trade of flour and fuel. They employ militiamen to conduct the abductions of traders, also in Nyala.”

East Jebel Marra

On Wednesday, gunmen kidnapped Ayoub Yousif Abakar and Abdel Halim Osman Hamed near Katur in East Jebel Marra, and demanded the payment of SDG150,000 ($22,385) for their release.

One of the relatives of the kidnapped told Radio Dabanga that four bandits, riding camels, intercepted the two men while they were on their way from Katur market to Bura village on Wednesday.

He said the militants took the two men by force of arms, to an unknown destination. “The kidnappers then called the families of the kidnapped and demanded them to pay the ransom.”

(Report also in South Darfur)

Herders attack South Darfur farmers, kill five

July 24 – 2017 NYALA

Militant herders shot five South Darfur displaced farmers dead and wounded nine others south-east of the South Darfur capital of Nyala on Saturday. Two women were attacked on their farm near Zalingei in CentralDarfur.

“The problems started when Arab camel herders took an injured woman of their tribe to the police on Friday, filed a complaint against the people of Hejeir Tono, and then transported her to the Nyala Teaching Hospital,” the deputy omda of the village told Dabanga Radio.

“The women fell off her camel when the farmers were trying to chase camels from their land near Hejeir Tono village,” Sheikh Abakar Rahma explained.

He said that the Abbala tribesmen demanded from the villagers to hand the attacker of the woman.

“We told them several times that we do not know the culprit, but they did not believe us. The next day, without any warning, large numbers of militant Abbala on camels and horses entered the farms of the village and began shooting around them.

“Khadija Babikir Abdeljabbar, Abdallah Daoud Adam, Shummo Adam Adamo, Abdo Babikir Abdallah, and Adam Saleh Hamid were killed,” he said. “Nine others were wounded, some of them seriously, and had to be taken to the Nyala Teaching Hospital.”

He said that many of the villagers who recently returned from the Kalma and El Salam camps for the displaced in the South Darfur capital, fled to the camps again.

Saleh Abdallah, Secretary-general of Kalma camp told this station that on Sunday 120 families from Hejeir Tono, about 25 km from Nyala, arrived to the camp on foot and on carts.

“Now they are staying at Block 8 without any food or shelter,” he said.

Zalingei

Two women farmers sustained bullet wounds in an attack by gunmen on their farm near Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, on Saturday.

The coordinator of the Central Darfur camps for the displaced, El Shafee Abdallah, told this station that a group of gunmen on horses shot displaced women farmers Najwa El Nour and Maryam Ahmed Eisa. They were taken to the Zalingei Teaching Hospital after the incident was reported to the police.

The coordinator called on Unamid to conduct daily patrols “to provide the least protection for the displaced persons inside and outside the camps”.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Woman beaten to death in Central Darfur

July 25 – 2017 ZALINGEI / EL FASHER

Militiamen beat a 32-year-old woman to death at her farm west of Zalingei on Sunday evening. Three farmers were attacked near a camp.\

Militants beat 32-year-old Fatima Mohamed Adam with sticks, at her farm in Mara, west of Zalingei, near the Murnei road. El Shafie Abdallah, Coordinator of Central Darfur camps reported this to Radio Dabanga. She succumbed to her injuries.

Three other farmers, including two women, were injured in an attack by bandits on their farms in Kori and Lali, west of El Hassahissa camp on the same evening. Adam Abdallah, Maryam Adam Yagoub and Azza Mohamed Yahya were wounded.

Abdallah also reported that militiamen torched tents of displaced people and drove livestock onto the farms, forcing the farmers to flee to El Hassahissa. “There is a complete absence of Unamid and the State Government here,” Abdallah said.

Hijacking

On Sunday, bandits hijacked a jeep while it was on its way from El Fasher at Kaura to Kabkabiya in North Darfur. A locality official told Radio Dabanga that the hijacked vehicle carried administrative officer Ismael Rabeh, banker Ismael Simba and was driven by Idris Bakhit.

The gunmen stopped them by force of arms, told them to disembark, seized the vehicle and left. “The officer and his companions arrived in Kabkabiya where they reported the incident.”

Related to this, the official said that a commercial convoy was stuck on the road from El Fasher to Kabkabiya because other militiamen stop vehicles and trucks here, insisting drivers to hand over SDG 1,000 ($150) before they are allowed to pass their checkpoint.

Kidnap continues

The kidnapped Zakaria Musa Osman and Bahreldin Jaber Saeedm, who were kidnapped from Saraf Umra in North Darfur before last Ramadan, are still being held and their fate is unknown, a family member of one of the victims reported to Radio Dabanga.

(Report also in North and West Darfur)

ACJPS: ‘Upsurge in attacks on civilians in Darfur’

August 8 – 2017 DARFUR

There has been a marked upsurge in targeted attacks by Sudanese government forces on civilians in Darfur since May, according to the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS). The human rights monitor recorded several attacks on civilians and villages in the past months.

Government forces clashed with two rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLA-TC) – in East, Central, and North Darfur states between 28 May and 6 June. Tens of thousands of civilians were displaced during the clashes and subsequently as a result of attacks by government forces and allied militia on civilian areas, the ACJPS said yesterday.

Radio Dabanga reported in early July how hundreds of families – more than 2,000 people – fled the fighting in Ein Siro, North Darfur, and have arrived in a camp for displaced people in Kutum. The attacks in Ein Siro occurred between 28 May and 6 June and included members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other government-sponsored militias. They fought against Darfuri armed movements – of which there is no presence in any of the attacked villages, according to the ACJPS.

Trend in attacks

In late June and early July, ACJPS documented a continuing trend of targeted attacks on civilians in Central and West Darfur. The attacks on civilians appeared to have been prompted by the earlier clashes between government and armed opposition forces, and intended to punish or otherwise intimidate civilians living in the areas of rebel activity.

On 28 June, a prominent youth activist and leader in the camps for displaced people in Nierteti, Central Darfur, was killed by an unidentified militia group in front of his home. The police refused to file a criminal complaint and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) prohibited his family from holding a public funeral or erecting a marquee for visitation and consolation. The local hospital also refused to accept his body for an autopsy.

On 29 June, around 50 uniformed soldiers of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fired live ammunition on the market in Golo, Central Darfur, killing eleven people, including four children. Ten women and girls were raped and several homes and shops in the market were looted. At least thirty men were arrested and taken to the nearby army garrison. Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters have since been deployed to Golo and have prevented civilians from entering or leaving the area.

On 6 July a youth activist from Tor, Central Darfur, was abducted by an unidentified militia group on the road between Tor and Kass. His body was found four days later in a remote area near Tor, with gunshot wounds to his head and chest. The police refused to issue Criminal Form 8 to document the crime and the hospital refused to conduct an autopsy.

On 9 July, the police and RSF forcibly shut down Karnidink market in El Geneina, West Darfur. One woman and two children were killed during the incident, and twelve people were injured.

Protective measures

ACJPS calls on the Government of Sudan to cease attacks targeting the civilian population in Darfur, in particular killing, sexual violence and looting committed by its armed forces and allied militia.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Farmers raped, murdered, driven from Darfur farms

August 24 – 2017 KABKABIYA / NIERTETI / TAWILA

In separate incidents this week, one woman farmer was raped near Kabkabiya in North Darfur, villagers were driven from their farms in Central Darfur, and a farmer was murdered for his donkey in eastern Jebel Mara.

A woman activist told Radio Dabanga that two militants accosted a 37-year-old woman on her farm in the Beer Jongo area north of Kabkabiya and repeatedly raped her at gunpoint on Sunday night.

She explained that two reports were filed about the incident, the first to Unamid police and the second to Kabkabiya police.

She added that the rape victim was later taken to Kabkabiya hospital.

Farmers flee

Farmers from villages around Nierteti in Central Darfur have been forced to leave their farms and flee to the town after militants opened intensive fire in those areas.

On Saturday witnesses told Radio Dabanga from the area that the events came after a large group of militants in Land Cruisers and motorcycles gathered three days ago at Khor Ramla and Kory in the area of Nierteti, claiming one of their men had been in those areas since Sunday.

Witnesses said the militants then threatened to burn the Nierteti market and the northern camp for the displaced if the missing man is not returned.

He said the militants then opened fire into the air, drove farmers from their farms at Kibe and Khor Ramla and forced them to return to Nierteti town on Wednesday.

On Monday relatives of El Rasheed told Radio Dabanga that gunmen tried to steal his donkey but resisted, which prompted them to kill him instantly and take his donkey.

He explained that the body of the deceased was transferred to Fanaga where he was buried.

Militiamen surround Central Darfur camp, shoot student

August 27 – 2017 NIERTETI

A university student was shot at Nierteti’s Northern Camp in Central Darfur on Thursday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a camp elder reported that militiamen began firing into the air over the Northern Nierteti Camp for the displaced on Thursday evening.

“Abdelwahab Hasan Hamid was seriously hit by bullets, and had to be taken to Nyala for treatment,” he said.

The elder said that a large group of militants in vehicles and on motorcycles and horses began gathering north and west of the Nierteti Northern Camp since Sunday, after one of their colleagues went missing in the area.

They threatened to burn the Nierteti market and the camp if the missing man would not be returned.

“The growing number of militants near the camp prevented the displaced from leaving the camp to tend their farms, especially in the areas of Kibe and Khor Ramla,” the camp elder added.

Woman killed in Central Darfur home invasion

August 29 – 2017 TUR

Armed men shot and killed a 32-year-old woman in her house in Central Darfur on Sunday.

Hawa El Din Abdelmahmoud was shot dead by unknown assailants inside her house in Tur in Nierteti locality. A source informed Radio Dabanga that the incident was reported to the Central Reserve Police (popularly known as Abu Tira) in Tur. The Abu Tira transferred the body to the unified police headquarters in Nierteti.

Last Thursday a man was shot in Nierteti’s Northern Camp when militiamen fired shots into the air, over the camp. He was taken to Nyala hospital for treatment.

Violent Central Darfur camp raid

August 30 – 2017 NIERTETI

A woman was injured when armed men fired heavily into the air during a raid on the market of the Northern Camp for the displaced in Nierteti, Central Darfur on Sunday night.

One of the camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that gunmen opened dense gunfire during a night raid on the camp’s Blocks 7 and 8. Maryam Khamis was wounded in the crossfire.

The sheikh said the gunmen stole SDG 5,500 ($825), broke into shops, and stole 22 mobile phones and other money, before making-off into the night.

The local police have been alerted but no suspects have been apprehended.

Central Darfur boy seriously injured in UXO blast

August 30 – 2017 ZALINGEI

A 12-year-old boy is in Zalingei hospital in Central Darfur after an item of unexploded ordnance (UXO) he was playing with detonated yesterday.

El Shafie Abdallah, the Coordinator of displaced camps of Central Darfur told Radio Dabanga that Mutasim Mohamed Abdallah found an unidentified object near camp Hamidiya, east of the Technology College.

“The boy began to play with it and it detonated. He was seriously injured and transferred to hospital.”

UXO causes deaths across Sudan and Darfur regularly. In July, a 13-year-old boy was similarly injured after playing with an item of UXO at El Khereiga area five kilometres south of Zamzam camp for the displaced in North Darfur.

Years of conflict have left Darfur and other conflict areas of Sudan littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO). Radio Dabanga appeals to listeners throughout the region (and elsewhere in our reception area) not to touch any ‘unexploded’ grenades or other ammunition found in the field. Mark its position clearly to alert others, and report it immediately to a camp elder, Unamid and/or the local police.

Driver kidnapped in Central Darfur

September 1 – 2017 NIERTETI

Armed men kidnapped a man in Nierteti, Central Darfur, on Thursday afternoon.

Mohamed Musa Hamza was taken from his tuktuk vehicle (a type of rickshaw) to an unknown destination, one of the sheikhs in the camps for displaced people in Nierteti locality told Radio Dabanga.

Four members of a militia, wearing military uniforms, told the driver of the car, Mohamed Musa, to get out. Musa was on his way to western Nierteti. Under the threat of arms he was abducted and his vehicle taken.

The sheikh said that the police in Nierteti has been informed about the incident.

Displaced woman raped en route to Central Darfur capital

September 6 – 2017 ZALINGEI

A 25-year-old woman was brutally raped on the way in Zalingei locality in Central Darfur on Saturday.

The woman, who cannot be named to protect her privacy, was intercepted by three armed men near the Aribo valley as she made her way from camp Hamidiya to the state capital.

El Shafee Abdallah, the Coordinator of displaced persons camps in Central Darfur told Radio Dabanga that the crime was reported to the Zalingei police.

Abdallah said that a docket containing two charges of rape and one of serious damage was filed as case number 1771 by Detective Suleiman Shawgar.

No suspects have been identified or arrested thus far.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Crimes in Darfur: Two men killed, town surrounded

September 14 – 2017 TAWILA / JEBEL AMER / NIERTETI

A man was shot and killed in Tawila, North Darfur, on Monday. A merchant was killed in a mining area in North Darfur on Wednesday. Militiamen surrounded a village in Central Darfur for four days in a row.

Armed men opened fire on Mohammadain Idris Adam in Kulu, southeast of Tawila, in North Darfur on Monday. Omda Mukhtar Bosh, coordinator of the camps for displaced people in the area, told Radio Dabanga that the militiamen, riding camels and horses, attacked Idris Adam when he was tilling his farm. He was killed on the spot.

In Jebel Amer, the gold mining area in El Sareif Beni Hussein locality, militiamen shot and killed merchant Abdelkarim Jamaa on Wednesday morning. A witness told this station that armed men attacked Jamaa in his shop, opened fire on him, killed him instantly, stole goods from his shop and then fled.

Jamaa lived in El Jeer, a district in Nyala in South Darfur, the witness said. He was buried in El Sareif yesterday.

Meanwhile the local police announced that they will move to the mining areas in Jebel Amer, as part of a new plan to deter smugglers and curb the high rate violence. The Sudanese Minister of Minerals, Hashim Ali Salim, said that the plan should extend the prestige of the state and enforce the law.

Siege

Militiamen surrounded Tur in Niereteti locality, Central Darfur, for four days in a row, listeners told Radio Dabanga. The militiamen accuse the villagers for the loss of their livestock.

From Sunday until Wednesday, the men use camels and motorcycles to drive around and surround Tur. They told residents that the cattle thieves who stole their cows had entered Tur.

A group headed by the commissioner in Nierteti managed to talk with the militiamen and break their siege on Tur on Wednesday, however, the tension remains in the area, listeners told Radio Dabanga.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Robberies in Darfur leave one dead, 17 wounded

September 18 – 2017 KUTUM / TUR

A herder was killed and four others were injured in a cattle raid in North Darfur’s Kutum on Saturday. In an attack on the Tur Eastern Camp in Central Darfur on Sunday night, 13 displaced were wounded.

A group of gunmen riding motorcycles attacked five cattle herders in Kutum on Saturday afternoon.

“They shot one of the herders dead. The other four were injured,” a relative of the victims told Radio Dabanga. “The gunmen then took their 110 cows with them in the direction of western Fata Borno,” he said.

Tur

A camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen riding on camels and horses stormed the Tur Eastern Camp for the displaced at about 1 am on Sunday.

“The janjaweed shot in the air, and beat and stabbed any one in front of them. 13 people were injured. They then plundered eight homes,” he reported.

The wounded were taken to Nierteti Hospital. The incident was reported to the military garrison of Tur.

Passengers abducted in attack on Central Darfur convoy

September 21 – 2017 GULDO

A group of armed men attacked a convoy of at least 10 vehicles on the road between Guldo and Golo in Central Darfur on Tuesday. They hijacked four of the vehicles along with their occupants. One passenger managed to escape and sound the alarm.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that armed men in Land Cruiser, motorcycles and others on camels attacked the vehicles and took four of them by force of arms.

They then made off to an unknown destination with the occupants of the vehicles who include three children, four women, and 32 men. They include pilgrims, as well as the owners and drivers of the four vehicles, namely El Sadig Mousa Soni, Adam Kouli, Abdallah Mousa, Feisal Abdelshafi, Yasin Abdallah Bahar, Rizig Fordi, and Saddam.

Witnesses said one of the passengers managed to escape from the hijackers when one of the vehicles broke-down was disrupted at Borno area. He made his way to Guldo where he informed the authorities of the incident.

Gunmen kill boy in Central Darfur camp

September 22 – 2017 NIERTETI

Armed men killed a school boy in Nierteti camp in Central Darfur on Thursday.

Militants shot 14-year-old Abdelazim Abdeljabbar, a basic school student in the northern part of the Nierteti camp for displaced people, on Thursday morning in his house. He was killed immediately.

One of the camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that four gunmen attacked the house of the boy’s father, Abdeljabbar Yousif, by opening dense fire on his house. The bullets killed his son, while Yousif survived the gunfire.

September 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – An interagency mission to assess needs of civilians in several areas in the eastern part of Jebel Marra in South Darfur found that over 105,000 civilians are in need of humanitarian assistance. Since December 2016, Sudanese government decided to allow aid workers unfettered access the troubled mountainous area where the fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur who refuse to declare a unilateral cessation of hostilities or to join the peace process.

The United Nations decided to reduce the peacekeepers in Darfur region but at the same time to will enhance its presence in Jebel Marra to provide the needed protection for civilians and aid workers. In its latest bulletin, UN OCHA said an inter-agencies – the UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) visited Deribat town, Jabra and Kidineer areas from 10 to 15 September for the first time in several years. The report estimated there are 105,000 civilians living in 46 villages. The visited areas host some 42,000 protracted displaced people and 1,000 returnees.

The UNICEF found that 18,013 children under five years are in need of nutrition services. Also, there are two health centres in Deribat but only one is functioning. “There are no regular routine immunization services provided in Deribat, except for occasional national immunisation day and routine acceleration activities,” said the assessment mission in its findings. It also noted that the most common diseases are acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malaria for children, while obstetric complications are the main reproductive health problems. The report recommended to deploy health staff and to provide the assessed areas with medicines, immunization and nutrition services

(Report is also in North Darfur)

Raids: Four villagers killed, boy abducted in Darfur

September 29 – 2017 JEBEL MARRA / TAWILA / GARSILA

Four people were killed, including a mother and her child, in a militia raid on a village in eastern Jebel Marra on Thursday. A boy was abducted during an attack on a village in Tawila locality.

Militiamen raided Tamboul village in the area popularly known as eastern Jebel Marra on Thursday morning. They shot four people and stole about 150 livestock and property of people, one of the villagers reported to Radio Dabanga.

“50 houses were torched. The attack took place at 5am while we were sleeping, and we woke up by the sound of bullets.” The shooting led to the death of 55-year-old Ahmed Omar, a woman and her six-months-old baby and a young man.

The attack reportedly sparked many villagers to flee to the mountain caves.

In a raid on Sousawa village, north of Tabit in Tawila locality, by a group of gunmen on Wednesday evening, a boy of 14 years old was abducted. Two villagers sustained injuries while 84 sheep, goats, camels and donkeys were stolen.

Yousif Ibrahim Hamid (14) was abducted and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Assault

On Thursday, Noureldin Adam Mohamed and Abdallah Koui of Garsila camp for displaced people in Central Darfur were severely beaten and injured by militants.

A sheikh in the area told Radio Dabanga that armed men attacked the two displaced men while they were tilling their farm at Yangusai, east of Garsila. “The attackers tried to kidnap them, but they resisted. They were severely beaten.”

Koui was transferred to Garsila Hospital because of deep wounds he sustained.

Two teachers killed in raid in Central Darfur

September 29 – 2017 BINDISI / EL GENEINA / EL FASHER

Two teachers were killed and other people were abducted in an attack by militiamen on a camp for displaced people in Central Darfur on Friday afternoon. In West Darfur, a pregnant woman was found dead.

Gunmen attacked the southern and western part of Bindisi camp, in Bindisi locality, after the Friday prayers, eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga. They shot and killed Yusuf Adam Abdallah, a basic school teacher, on the spot. A high school teacher was also killed. Three people were wounded.

The witnesses said that the perpetrators abducted eight people during the attack. In addition a number of houses were torched and money and property of the camp residents were stolen. The whereabouts of the abducted people are unknown.

Unverified reports pointed out that the incident might be related to a retaliation attack, following the discovery of the body of a 12-year-old girl near the camp on Thursday.

Woman killed

Yesterday the body of Maria Yahya Ibrahim, a woman seven months pregnant, was found east of Ardamata in El Geneina locality, West Darfur. She reportedly was killed by gunmen who had abducted her.

The coordinator of the camps for displaced people in Sirba locality told this station that people conducted searches for Yahya Ibrahim, who was a resident of Kundebe camp. She went missing on Wednesday and allegedly was abducted.

“They found her body on Thursday, dumped in a lair in a valley east of Ardamata,” the coordinator said.

The doctor’s report stated that she suffered a fracture in the backbone and teeth, and was possibly hit by a sharp rod.

Passengers robbed

Militiamen intercepted a passenger lorry en route from Tawila to El Fasher on Thursday. The attackers, riding motorcycles, opened fire on the vehicle which carried 45 passengers, in the area of Tundabaya.

Passenger Abdallah Mohamed Ahmed was serisously injured, the coordinator of the camps for displaced people in the area Omda Mukhtar Bosh told Radio Dabanga.

“The gunmen forced the passengers out of the bus and stripped them of their money and mobile phones.”

He added that the locality commissioner ordered a military force to chase the perpetrators to the area of Aum, near Kabkabiya, but they have not managed to escape without recovering the loot.

In El Fasher city, bandits stole the vehicle of Ahmed Mohamed El Douma, the director of the immunisation department of North Darfur, on Thursday. They attacked El Douma in front of his house and seized his vehicle under the threat of arms.

Sudan Tribune

RSF militiamen kill one person in revenge attack in Central Darfur

October 1, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed a civilian wounded other seven people in an attack carried on a camp of internally displaced persons in Central Darfur state.

The RSF, a brutal government militia, attacked the Khamssa Dagayg camp outside the state capital Zalingei, to revenge the murder of one of its members near the camp. IDPs spokesperson in the camp told Sudan Tribune that gunmen riding nine vehicles carried out a “savage attack” on the camp killing a displaced person and injured seven others, adding they abducted two other residents.

He said the state government deployed the army around the camp to prevent further attacks, adding they informed the UNAMID peacekeepers of the attack but they didn’t intervene. The state government didn’t issue any statement about the incident. Also, Sudan Tribune failed to reach officials for comment on the attack. Jebel Marra remains a hot area in Darfur region as the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdel Wahid didn’t declare a cessation of hostilities. Hussein Abu Sharati, the Darfur IDPs spokesperson, condemned the RSF attack on the camp saying it is part of the government plan to close the camps of displaced persons.

He said the government resorted to such attacks after its failure to convince them to return to their areas of origin due to the lack of security in the region.

Man killed in militia attack on Central Darfur camp

October 2 – 2017 ZALINGEI / TAWILA

Militiamen killed a man in attacks on a camp for displaced people in Zalingei locality. Approximately nine people sustained injuries.

The militiamen reportedly drove nine four-wheel drive vehicles and rode motorcycles and camels to enter Khamsa Degaig camp, southeast of Zalingei, at midnight on Saturday. The coordinator of the camps in Central Darfur, El Shafie Abdallah, reported to Radio Dabanga that some of the vehicles carried number plates of the Sudanese army. “The attack by the militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces sparked terror among camp residents.

“Camp residents contacted the state authorities and the police to ask for protection. The police station is metres away from the camp,” El Shafie said. A delegation headed by the locality commissioner arrived six hours after the attack.

Several hours later, at 7am on Sunday, the militiamen fired shots at the camp which resulted in the killing of Mustafa Adam Abakar (36 years). A 16-year-old boy named Abul Gasim Omar Mansour was abducted. Reportedly nine people sustained injuries and now receive treatment at the hospital in Zalingei.

Sudanese soldiers in two armoured vehicles and six Land Cruisers arrived at the scene to separate the attacking militiamen from the camp residents. “These militiamen are located 1km from the camp, but none of the perpetrators have been arrested so far.”

The coordinator thinks that the attack happened after the discovery of the body of one of the militia members in Dengajuri, 5km southeast of Zalingei. The militiamen accused residents of Khamsa Degaig of committing the murder.

Cattle theft

Gunmen shot a resident of Tawila locality on Saturday and killed him on the spot. Relatives of the slain Mohamed Abdelrahman said that an armed group driving a vehicle attempted to steal his cattle by force. When Abdelrahman refused to surrender they shot him dead.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Two men shot and killed in Darfur

October 3 – 2017 TAWILA / DOBO EL OMDA / EL FASHER

Two people were killed in separate incidents in Tawila and eastern Jebel Marra in Darfur on Sunday and Monday. In El Fasher, a security force rounded-up members of an alleged criminal network.

Gunmen killed cattle herder Mohamed Abdelrahman Hamid in Yaw, north of Tawila on Sunday. Community elder omda Mukhtar Bosh told Radio Dabanga that three armed men attacked Hamid while he let his goats graze in Yaw. He died instantly.

In Daba Naira, 15km east of Dobo El Omda in eastern Jebel Marra, armed herders shot Yousif Haroun Ibrahim on Monday morning. Relatives of Ibrahim reported to Radio Dabanga that two cattle herders on camels trespassed on his farmland.

When Ibrahim objected to the herders’ actions, they opened fire on him. The serious injuries later led to his death in Daba Naira village.

Criminal network

On Tuesday, Commissioner of El Fasher El Tijani Saleh announced the arrest of an alleged criminal network that is specialised in theft, vehicle hijacking, and blackmail. The network has reportedly caused “insecurity and chaos inside the city”.

Saleh told reporters that a joint force managed to arrested one of the suspects in a raid on his house. In the house they found weapons, ammunition, military uniforms, vehicle number plates, and identification documents.

After reviewing the numbers of the seized plates, it became clear that they belong to three vehicles that were reported stolen in El Gism El Awsat. “Other suspects of the criminal network are being sought.”

The capital of North Darfur regularly witnesses car hijacking. In August, gunmen hijacked a vehicle belonging to an aid organisation.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Marauding militants rob and rustle in Darfur

October 26 – 2017 DARFUR

Three people were shot dead and three others were wounded in an attack by militants on Fara village in Tullus locality in South Darfur on Tuesday. The attackers stole a number of cattle.

In a separate incident, militants intercepted two vehicles at Bismillah gate near Mellit in North Darfur on Tuesday and robbed the occupants at gunpoint.

At Um Geigou area south of El Fasher, militants stole 30 camels belonging to a trader, while a number of farmers were injured in a clash with the herders at Azum area of Central Darfur on Wednesday. A woman and a man were taken to Ronga Tas Hospital.

East Jebel Marra

A number of people were wounded, three of them in serious condition in an attack by gunmen on Fogni village north of El Malam in south Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Tuesday night.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night gunmen on camels and horses attacked Fogni village, opened dense fire in the air during the attack and wounded a number of people.

Witnesses said the gunmen seized money, property and livestock of the villagers.

They pointed to the displacement of a number of the villagers to El Malam in East Jebel Marra locality, and and Dubo El Omda in Tawila locality in eastern Jebel Marra.

Villagers robbed a month after voluntary return to Darfur’s East Jebel Marra

October 28 – 2017 EAST JEBEL MARRA

At least five people, including a young woman, were wounded and many others are missing after an attack and robbery by militiamen on the area of Leiba in South Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Friday. Hundreds of livestock and villagers’ belonging were stolen.

A village elder complained that the government troops stationed in the area did not intervene to protect the people: “They only fired into the air to protect themselves and to avoid attack by the militiamen”.

Fleeing villagers told Radio Dabanga that militiamen in three vehicles mounted with dushka machineguns, and others riding camels and horses, attacked the area of Leiba on Friday morning and fired heavily into the air during the attack.

They pointed out that the people, who were previously displaced by hostilities, moved back to the area of Leiba just a month ago in the context of voluntary return.

Gisma Adam (18), Abdelhalim Yahya (35), Abdelrazek Yousef (55), Kaltoum Abaker (62), in addition to a girl named Hikma are listed as injured, but callers cautioned that there might be more casualties as several people are still missing or unaccounted for.

Callers told this station that the militants stole the people’s money and property along with about 1,000 head of cattle.

Gunmen wreak havoc in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra

October 31 – 2017 DERIBAT

Militiamen have free rein killing and robbing people in the area of Deribat in East Jebel Marra without any action buy authorities to stop them, according to several residents.

“On Saturday and Sunday, groups of militiamen plundered three shops at the Deribat market, stole 10 donkeys from market visitors,” a shop keeper reported to Radio Dabanga from the market. “The price of a donkey exceeds SDG 10,000 (close to $1,500),” he added.

He said that the security situation in the area deteriorated despite the presence of government forces guarding the market. “They are doing nothing against militia attacks, although they weekly collect SDG 10,000 protection fees from each shopkeeper.”

He called on Unamid to establish a base in Deribat and protect the residents and their property.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Herders abduct two farmers, attack others in Darfur

November 6 – 2017 TAWILA / KUTUM / MUKJAR

A group of herders abducted two villagers from their farms in North Darfur’s Tawila locality on Saturday. Herders are grazing their livestock on farms in Kutum. In Central Darfur, militiamen robbed a number of farmers of their belongings.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a relative of one of the victims reported that four gunmen riding camels attacked Adam Abakar Haroun (45) and Suliman Omar Saleh (35) and on their farms near Timo village, 10 km west of Khazan Tunjur.

“The camelmen accused them stealing a number of cows that went missing some days ago. But Adam and Suliman had nothing to do with the matter,” he said.

He added that others from Timo village informed the military garrison of Murtal about the incident.

Grazing

Farmers in Kutum complained about livestock destroying their farms.

“Three days ago, herders began grazing camels and sheep at the farms belonging to Jengouli and Gharban villages, less than 3 km east of Kutum town,” a farmer told this station on Sunday.

“The herders threaten to kill anyone who protests the grazing or tries to remove the animals from the farms.”

Hand broken

In Mukjar locality in Central Darfur, militiamen attacked a number of farmers in Kombo Umbera on Sunday morning.

“At 4 am, a group of militiamen stormed the village. They were shooting heavily in the air to intimidate us,” one of the victims reported.

“They then began to take our property. When Khadija Adam protested, they beat her with a baton, and broke her hand,” he added.

Disarmament

The agreed period for grazing in Sudan’s western region does not commence until February, about two months after the start of the dry season. However, each year herders graze their livestock on farms prematurely, causing repeated tension with farmers.

This year, farmers in Darfur began to report assaults by herders grazing their livestock on farms by force of arms in October. A number of farmers have been killed and injured.

The attacks raised calls for the intensification of the disarmament campaign in the region, announced by Khartoumin July.

Displaced set strict rules for camp searches by Sudan forces

November 17 – 2017 ZALINGEI

In a shift from the general rejection of the search for weapons in camps for displaced people on the presence of illegally held weapons, displaced people have started to welcome the inspection campaign. A search in a Central Darfur camp resulted in no weapons being found.

Differing views of displaced people in Darfur on the weapons collection campaign have led to a slightly more welcoming stance towards the inspection of camps, associations of displaced people and refugees informed Radio Dabanga yesterday.

Meanwhile the general coordination of displaced people and refugee camps continue to refuse the government forces’ entry and inspection of the camps on the presence of arms. The general coordination for camps declared its rejection of the government’s plans.

Last Thursday Sudanese forces entered and inspected Hamidiya camp in Central Darfur’s Zalingei, and announced that they did not find any weapons after the 8-hour inspection. “The forces did not arrest or harrass anyone,” said El Shafie Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps, to Radio Dabanga.

“Government forces entered the camp from four directions at 6am and announced via a loudspeaker that they entered the camp to carry out the weapons collection campaign.” Abdallah claimed that three soldiers troops did assault displaced people in the market and seized a number of telephones. The military commander then promised to investigate the case.

The troops withdrew from Hamidiya camp after the inspection. According to Sudan Tribune, quoting Abdallah Eisa, a coordinator of the displaced in the state, the search operation was conducted by police and the Sudanese army, “without other forces”, in allusion to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). “The state government coordinated this with local leaders, Unamid and humanitarian organisations.”

Also on Thursday, Unamid members met with displaced people at the mission’s headquarters in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. They discussed the entry and inspection of camps by government forces. The displaced people said that the camps are free of weapons, yet they welcomed the inspection.

‘Free of weapons’

Yagoub Abdallah Furi, the General Coordinator of displaced and refugees camps, told Radio Dabanga that the camps are free of weapons. “The government and Unamid [the UN-AU peacekeeping mission] know this very well.” Furi said that the government’s plan to enter the camps under the pretext of collecting weapons is aimed at dismantling the camps.

Meanwhile, the Association for Displaced People and Refugees has welcomed the inspection in camps, to be carried out by the government’s military or security forces, but it set-up a package of conditions which are required before the government forces enter any camp.

Speaking on behalf of the association, Hussein Abusharati also said that the displaced people in the camps do not carry weapons. “But we decided to accept the inspection of the camps, in response to the government’s pressure for this, and the approval of Unamid.”

Unamid supervision

Sudan’s second vice-president Hasabo Abdelrahman chaired a meeting in Kalma camp for the displaced in South Darfur mid-November to discuss the arms collection in the camps, with the South Darfur governor and a Unamid delegation headed by Gersah Sasa Polo. Unamid requested that the collection of weapons be conducted through a joint plan to be discussed later.

In a statement this month, Unamid called on the Sudanese authorities to coordinate the search of illegal weapons in camps for the displaced with the peacekeepers. The mission immediately reacted to the “show of force” by heavily armed government forces in Kalma camp on November 1, which caused panic among the displaced people.

Abusharati: “At the top of the conditions for the inspection is the formation of a tripartite committee, comprising of the camp administration, Unamid, and the government, for supervision. Secondly, the inspection should be conducted by Unamid.

“Thirdly, the purpose of the inspection should be only for arms without the exposure of the displaced to questioning or holding their leadership. Fourthly, the government forces must immediately depart from the camp after the inspection.”

Opposition

In August, the Sudanese government launched a large-scale campaign to disarm civilians and collect illegal weapons and vehicles in Darfur and states of Kordofan, in its attempt to improve the security and stability in these regions. The campaign has entered the stage of compulsory collection of weapons by reinforcements of Sudanese military and security forces.

The compulsory arms collection is feared to lead to new conflict and internal fighting between militias in Darfur. The RSF captured Ali Rizgallah ‘Safana’, leader of a recently defected faction of the paramilitary Border Guards, after several clashes in North Darfur on 10 November.

Also Musa Hilal, militia leader and chief of the Mahameed clan, strongly opposes the planned integration of the Border Guards into the RSF, as part of the disarmament campaign.

Man shot dead, fireworks kill two in Sudan cities

December 1 – 2017 NIERTETI / KHARTOUM

A man was shot and killed in his house in Central Darfur. In Khartoum, two people died of injuries they sustained during an accident with fireworks.

The 30 year-old Eisa Adam Eisa Abdelrahman was shot and killed in his house in El Wehda district, Nierteti town, by unknown gunmen. A listener reported to Radio Dabanga that three gunmen arrived at his house and called him to come outside.

“They shot him dead on the spot and fled the scene.” Abdelrahman was married and had two children.

Fireworks

On Wednesday evening, the security committee of Omdurman reported the death of two people and the injury of fourteen others after a blast of fireworks at El Tisiniya. The fireworks were used to end celebrations commemorating the prophet’s birthplace in Omdurman.

According to the locality security committee, the fireworks entered the site without the approval of the committee. The committee said it will file a complaint against the perpetrators at El Awsat police department.

Man murdered, mother found dead in Central Darfur

December 4 – 2017 NIERTETI / ZALINGEI

Gunmen shot and killed a displaced man from Nierteti North camp in Central Darfur on Friday night. In a separate incident, the lifeless body of a displaced woman was found near a market on Saturday.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that on Friday night gunmen wearing military uniforms opened fire on Jarelnabi Adam Ishag at Block 4 of the Nierteti North camp and instantly killed him.

On Saturday the body of a displaced a mother of five, Naema Abakar Mohammed Omar (35) was found near Morein market at camp Hamidiya in Zalingei.

El Shafie Abdallah, the Coordinator of Central Darfur camps told Radio Dabanga that the deceased left camp Hamidiya on Friday on her way to camp Khamsa Dagayeg. Her body was found near to Morein market on Saturday morning.

El Shafie said police took the body of the deceased to Zalingei Hospital where the doctors confirmed death by natural causes.

Landing gear blast grounds high-level diplomatic flight in Darfur

December 5 – 2017 ZALINGEI

An explosion in the landing gear moments before takeoff grounded a Sudanese DH8 aircraft carrying high-level international ambassadors and United Nations officials at Zalingei Airport this morning. None of the passengers were injured.

The passengers including the ambassadors to Sudan from Qatar, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Canada, the deputy ambassadors of France and Germany, and United States embassy representatives were on board. The country director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Unamid head of mission, as well as World Food Programme (WFP) officials, also boarded the aircraft which was set to leave Zalingei Airport in Central Darfur to Khartoum.

The Civil Aviation Authority in Zalingei announced that the aircraft, reportedly a DH8 passenger plane of the WFP, is being held on the ground until a technical crew from Khartoum has arrived to investigate the explosion.

A statement issued by the same authority said that this is the second incident in Darfur in a month’s time, in which the landing gear of an aircraft exploded. In November, the wheels of an aircraft exploded at El Fasher Airport.

The high-level delegation of ambassadors and UN representatives were visiting Central Darfur to officially open several development projects. The delegation has reportedly remained in Zalingei.

Emergency landing

On Thursday, a Turkish Airlines flight with 107 passengers aboard made an emergency landing in Khartoum Airport after a bomb threat, authorities said. The aircraft was heading to Cairo from the Kenyan capital Nairobi when a British passenger on the board of the Boeing 737 received a bomb threat by e-mail when it entered the Sudanese airspace, said a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.

All the passengers were evacuated before explosive experts started their inspection of the aircraft, which was isolated in a remote area of the airport.

Three young women gang-raped by herders in Central Darfur

December 18 – 2017 NIERTETI

Three young women from Nierteti camp for the displaced in Central Darfur were raped in separate incidents on Friday and Saturday.

The coordinator of Nierteti camps told Radio Dabanga that six armed herders attacked two displaced women who were collecting firewood north of Nierteti. One of the victims is 16 years old, and the other 19 years old and eight months pregnant.

The coordinator said that the armed herders took turns raping the women for two hours at gunpoint.

He explained that the incident was reported to Nierteti unified police unit No. 716 and Unamid, and a medical report was filed confirming the rapes.

Also in Nierteti, two armed herders raped a displaced girl from the camp on Saturday.

The coordinator told Radio Dabanga that two herders attacked a displaced woman while collecting firewood north of Nierteti and repeatedly raped her.

He said that the incident was reported to the unified police unit at No. 69 and Unamid.

More rapes in Nierteti, Central Darfur

December 25 – 2017 NIERTETI

Three members of the paramilitary Border Guards raped two girls in Nierteti locality in Central Darfur on Saturday. According to the New York-based African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) the Sudanese criminal law does not protect rape victims.

The girls, aged 13 and 12, were collecting firewood south of Nierteti, when they were ambushed, a witness reported to Radio Dabanga. The militiamen repeatedly raped them at gunpoint.

The source added that army and police forces arrested one of the perpetrators. The other two fled.

The incident was reported to the police, and the two victims were taken to Nierteti Hospital.

Investigation

Last week, three young firewood collectors were raped by gunmen in separate incidents in the same area.

In response, ACJPS called on the Sudanese authorities to investigate the rapes. “A special prosecutor should be appointed to the case should the victims wish to proceed with a criminal prosecution. Local authorities must guarantee the victims protection from reprisal.”

The African Centre further called for measures to protect civilians, especially the vulnerable groups in and around Nierteti camps for the displaced.

The international community, particularly the EU, AU, and the USA, to “publicly and privately press the Sudanese government to meet its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law and to ensure unfettered access by Unamid peacekeepers and humanitarian actors to all parts of Darfur”.

Impunity

ACJPS further criticised the serious barriers to justice and the climate of endemic impunity for perpetrators in Darfur.

“The scale of sexual violence in Darfur is likely much greater than any reports indicate. Independent monitors are unable to access most of Sudan’s conflict affected areas and survivors often do not report incidents, owing to insecurity, stigma, the fear of reprisal and other obstacles.

“Among the obstacles are laws and policies that fail to ensure a safe environment for reporting sexual and gender based violence incidents and a consistent failure to prosecute these crimes,” ACJPS stated. Despite changes to the definition of rape in Sudan’s criminal law in 2015, the law remains unclear about evidence standards that apply and women who report sexual offences remain at risk of prosecution for adultery or committing “immoral acts” if they fail to prove a rape case.

“To date, the Government of Sudan has not ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), alongside the Optional Protocol to it of 2000.”

(Report also in South Darfur)

RSF raids wound at least ten in South, Central Darfur

December 26 – 2017 GIREIDA / WADI SALEH / TULLUS

Militiamen carried out a raid in Gireida locality in South Darfur and wounded nine people on Saturday. Money and phones were stolen during a raid in a Central Darfur camp.

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) surrounded Sadoun in Gireida from all sides, witnesses told Radio Dabanga. “They brought the women, children and men to one place where they beat them with whips and sticks,” a witness said. Nine people were injured.

In addition, 20 people were arrested. A total of SDG 7 million ($994,412) and 14 mobile phones were seized. Among those arrested were Ahmad Gamar, Jedo Mohamed Ahmed, Bashir Abakar Hassan, Abdelrahim Yagoub, El Ghali Haroun, Adam Yagoub, Azraq Mohamed, Adam Daoud Adam and others whose names were not identified.

The motive for the raid is unknown, the witnesses said. The residents called on the local authorities to form a committee of inquiry that researches the attack.

Central Darfur

In Wadi Saleh locality, RSF members attacked the Abuja market in Ardeba camp for displaced people. A number of displaced people were robbed of their money and mobile phones.

The militiamen beat some of the camp residents and wounded Abdelmahmoud Ibrahim, among others. A merchant named Ahmad lost SDG 7,000 ($994) to the militiamen. 17 phones were stolen.

The incident has been reported to the police and the prosecutor in Garsila, a witness said.

Residents of Tullus locality in South Darfur also reported being assaulted by RSF members in the past week and said they were forced to confess their possession of weapons. Reportedly eleven people were subjected to beatings.

Arms collection

In July, Khartoum announced a large disarmament campaign in the country, to begin with in Darfur and Kordofan. Members of the Rapid Support Forces, Sudan’s main government militia, and the army began collecting illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles from civilians in the regions the following month. The campaign has entered the stage of compulsory collection of weapons by the reinforcements of RSF and the Sudanese army. In North Darfur alone, 12,500 RSF and police have been deployed to assist with the arms collection and the controls of unregistered vehicles.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Darfur crimes: Two men killed, villagers beaten

January 5 – 2018 TAWILA / WADI SALEH / UM KEDDADA

Gunmen killed two factory workers in Tawila locality on Wednesday. In Central Darfur, people were beaten and forced by militiamen to keep food inside their town.

Armed men killed Adam Osman and Rayeldin Mohamed Adam in El Adareib El Ashara in North Darfur’s Tawila locality on Wednesday. A relative of one of the dead reported to Radio Dabanga that armed herders, riding camels, opened fire on the two men while they were working at a brick factory.

Beatings

Members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have subjected residents of Amarjadeed market in Wadi Saleh locality to severe beatings, witnesses in Central Darfur said.

A RSF group that was led by Maj. Mohamed Bonjos raided Amarjadeed’s weekly market and ordered the owners of crops not to sell millet or sorghum for more than SDG 700. They also ordered people not to take these crops out of the area.

A witness said that when the merchants and owners of crops protested against the decision, they were beaten and expelled from the market. Some of them were robbed of their belongings.

“People filed reports against the RSF members with the police in Garsila,” he concluded.

Robbery

Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle that belongs to the state’s medical supplier and wounded the director of a hospital and his driver in Hijer Jabir in Um Keddada locality on Wednesday.

The medical director of Jabir hospital in northern El Taweisha, Mohamed Adam, and the driver of the vehicle, Hadi Yagoub, were hit by the bullets and had to be transferred to El Fasher Hospital.

They were on an official mission to El Taweisha, Um Keddada and El Lait clinics for periodic supervision and also to open pharmacies in Hijer Jabir and El Taweisha hospitals.

Members of the Military Intelligence in Nierteti in Central Darfur detained five people last week. A resident of the Northern Nierteti camp for the displaced was shot dead while collecting firewood on Saturday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a camp sheikh said that on Tuesday, Haydar Idris Suleiman, a 25-year-old secondary school student living in the Northern Nierteti camp for the displaced was taken by Military Intelligence agents to the town’s army garrison without providing a reason.

“On Saturday, they returned and took Hafiz Abdelrahman (24) and Adam Khamis (21) with them.”

A listener reported that a camp resident named Siddig and a resident of Nierteti were detained by Military Intelligence agents from the town’s market on Saturday as well.

“Adam was collecting firewood together with his wife nearby the camp when a group of gunmen riding on horses suddenly opened fire at them. He was killed instantly. His wife suffered no injuries,” the sheikh said.

Camp residents reported the incident to the police. When no action followed, they staged a protest in front of the police station.

The police dispersed them with tear gas and firing in the air.

Darfur Military Intelligence continues detention campaign in Nierteti

January 10 – 2018 NIERTETI

During the past two weeks, the Military Intelligence unit in Nierteti, Central Darfur, detained 25 people. A reason was not provided.

Multiple sources told Radio Dabanga from Nierteti that members of the Military Intelligence held seven people, including three displaced people, from their homes on Tuesday morning.

“They seized Sheikh Hamed Mohamed Ali, from his house in Garsila district, along with Abaker Mohamed, and the brothers Abbas and Ishag Idris,” a source said.

A camp sheikh reported that Suleiman Abdelrasoul, Mohamed Abaker, and Omar Hasan were detained on Tuesday morning from the Garsila camp for the displaced in the town.

The detainees were taken to the Nierteti military garrison.

Another 18 people are being held at the military garrison, an activist informed this station on Tuesday.

“They were all detained within the past two weeks. Reasons for their arrest have not been given and their families or lawyers have not been allowed to visit them,” he said, and called for their immediate release.

Three people wounded in Central Darfur weapons search

January 11 – 2018 NIERTETI / TUR

Three people were seriously wounded in house-to-house searches by the paramilitary Rapid Support Force in Nierteti camp for displaced people in Central Darfur on Wednesday. In the past weeks, several Nierteti villagers have been detained for unknown reasons.

The raid on Wednesday morning in Nierteti camp was led by three officers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudanese soldiers carried out the raid under the command of a military lieutenant named Musab and police was also present at the scene, sheikhs reported to Radio Dabanga.

The joint force entered the northern Nierteti camp and conducted house-to-house searches and raided shops for three continuous hours, until 10am. “They found no weapons in the camp,” according to the sheikhs.

“After the searches the force accused the displaced people of supporting the rebels and hiding their weapons,” he said. A number of people were beaten, and three of them sustained serious injuries.

The three wounded have been taken to the hospital. Hassan Ahmed El Tahir was in a coma when he was transferred to Nierteti Hospital, a sheikh reported. Abdelrahman Abdelaziz, Mustafa Mohamed El Tahir and a woman who was not identified, were taken to the same hospital in a critical condition.

Large amounts of cash and mobile phones were seized, amounting to an estimated 100 phones. Victims have reported the incident to the police.

Weapons search in Tur

Another force of RSF, driving dozens of vehicles, searched the area of Tur in Nierteti for illegal weapons, starting at 3 pm on Wednesday.

Witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga that a number of residents were beaten by the paramilitary forces. “They stole goods in the town market and houses.”

A source said that the RSF was still in the area until late Wednesday.

Detainees released

During the past two weeks, the Military Intelligence unit in Nierteti detained 25 people, including a sheikh. A reason was not provided. On Wednesday the Military Intelligence released thirteen of the detainees.

Eight of the released people are from Garsila, four live in the northern Nierteti camp, and one person is from El Shabab. Twelve people remain in detention at the Nierteti military garrison, without their families or lawyers being allowed to visit them.

A source told this station that one of the detainees, named Mohamed Abaker, was beaten severely. The reason, according to the source, was that Abaker had a photograph on his phone of Amin El Toro, a ex-rebel leader who had signed an internal peace agreement with the government. El Toro died in a traffic accident in eastern Sudan last year.

Arms campaign

In the past weeks, people in Darfur repeatedly reported that soldiers of the RSF used violence while carrying out the collection campaign of illegal weapons in the region. The Sudanese government announced the campaign in July, to begin with in Darfur and Kordofan.

RSF and the army began collecting illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles from civilians in the regions the following month. The campaign has entered the stage of compulsory collection of weapons by the reinforcements of RSF and the Sudanese army. In North Darfur alone, 12,500 RSF and police have been deployed to assist with the arms collection and the controls of unregistered vehicles.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Fires destroy dozens of houses in Darfur towns

January 11 – 2018 KUTUM / AZUM

Fires have destroyed dozens of houses in Kutum and Azum localities this week, affecting villagers and people who recently returned from camps for displaced.

In Teital 33 houses were destroyed and large quantities of food, including cash crops, went up in flames. 76 houses burned to the ground in Balalali.

The press office of the Governor of Central Darfur, Jaafar Abdelhakam, said that the governor has promised every affected family in Balali a compensation of SDG 2,000, as well as a sack of millet.

Activists in Teital appealed to the neighboring villages in Kutum and to be generous and provide food and shelter to the affected families.

The village of Balali hosts more than 370 families who returned from camps for displaced people under the voluntary repatriation programme in Sudan.

Model villages

In July 2011, the Sudanese government signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur with former Darfur rebel movements, and pledged to construct model villages intended to house displaced Darfuris returning to their home areas. The Government of Qatar has financially supported Khartoum in this.

Most of the Darfur displaced categorically reject returning home or relocation to model villages as they consider the situation far from secure enough to leave the camps.

Violent Central Darfur weapons search continues

January 12 – 2018 NIERTETI

Searches for weapons have continued in the Central Darfur town of Nierteti, where sources reported that soldiers beat fourteen people during a raid. Two sheikhs have been arrested.

Members of the Military Intelligence continued the raids in the town on Thursday and arrested five people, including the sheikh of Tur, Abdelmutalab Abdallah, and the sheikhs of the southern Nierteti camp for displaced people: Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed.

The inspection of illegally held weapons was carried out by 50 vehicles, starting at 8am. Witnesses reported that Military Intelligence members beat fourteen people with whips, sticks, and rifle butts. The headmaster of the Tur basic school, named Ismael, is among the victims.

The soldiers also searched the local market for weapons, without finding any. They reportedly left the town at 8pm.

The previous day, three displaced people in the Nierteti camp were seriously wounded in house-to-house searches conducted by the Rapid Support Forces. Also Tur witnessed violent weapons searches that day.

During the past two weeks, the Military Intelligence unit in Nierteti detained 25 people, including a sheikh. A reason was not provided. On Wednesday the Military Intelligence released thirteen of the detainees.

Omda of Nierteti, three others held by Military Intelligence in Central Darfur

January 14 – 2018 NIERTETI

The Military Intelligence of Nierteti in Central Darfur detained four more people on Thursday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, multiple sources reported that the omda of Nierteti, Tijani Seifeldein, and the sheikh of Nierteti’s Omda district, Abakar Mohamed Ahmed, were detained from their homes in the town.

The head of the Northern Nierteti Camp for the displaced, Adam Hamid, and the head of the youth in the camp, Ahmed Abdallah, were detained as well.

Reasons were not provided.

Of the 25 others who were detained by the Military Intelligence unit in Nierteti during the past two weeks,13 were released on Wednesday.

Arms collection

According to the sources, the omdas and displaced community leaders have been detained because of the disarmament campaign currently being implemented by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and army soldiers in a number of states in Sudan, including Darfur.

Many displaced in Darfur have complained to Radio Dabanga about the behaviour of the RSF troops during their search for illegal weapons in the camps. Apart from harassment, the militiamen as well took mobile telephones and other items of value from the camp homes. Weapons were hardly found.

On Wednesday morning, the RSF raided the Northern Nierteti camp and conducted house-to-house searches or three continuous hours. After the search the force accused the camp residents of supporting rebels and hiding their weapons.. A number of people were beaten, and four of them sustained serious injuries.

An activist told this station from Nierteti on Friday that when the community leaders spoke out against the rough treatment of the government troops, they became so angry that they began to detain them, in order to silence them,” he said.

Two women raped during Darfur attack, Unamid confirms

January 19 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Investigators of the peacekeeping mission Unamid confirmed that two women from a camp for displaced people in Zalingei, Central Darfur were raped by militiamen.

Last Saturday, seven women from Hamidiya camp in Zalingei locality were attacked by militiamen. During the attack they were beaten. A medical report has confirmed that two of the women were raped.

The coordinator of the camps in Central Darfur, El Shafi Abdallah, told Radio Dabanga on Thursday that a human rights, child protection and police team of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (Unamid) visited the seven victims in their homes in Hamidiya on Tuesday. In the preceding days the women were being treated in Zalingei Hospital.

According to Abdallah, police has arrested one of the men who is accused of raping the displaced women.

‘Four shot dead in Central Darfur camp protests’: Coordinator

January 22 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Four people were reportedly killed and 44 others injured over the weekend when security forces shot at protesters in the Hasahisa camp in Zalingei in Central Darfur. According to the Commissioner of Zalingei, only one camp resident was killed, in a clash with the police.

“The problems started after a group of militiamen raided the Hasahisa camp market on Friday,” El Shafee Abdallah, Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps for the displaced told Radio Dabanga.

“Camp residents managed to seize one of the militiamen. Four people were wounded during the skirmish. In response, the displaced in the camp staged a protest march against the rampant insecurity in the area.

“Security forces and militiamen responded to the march by shooting at the crowd. Abdelshafee Ishag Eisa and Sheima Abdeljabbar were fatally hit. 29 others were injured.

On Saturday morning, members of the militia set fire to the engines supplying water from Wadi Azum to the camp, which led the people to protest again.

The camp coordinator described the situation in the camp on Sunday as “very tense”. Militiamen and security forces are still stationed near the camp.

‘Clash’

The Commissioner of Zalingei, a police colonel, reported in a press conference on Sunday that fighting broke out after a policeman clashed with a displaced young woman at the market of Telulo on Firday.

The family of the woman allegedly seized the policeman and took him to the Hasahisa camp prison, which prompted his colleagues to gather in front of the camp entrance, demanding his release.

As the camp residents refused to release him, the police used batons to break their insistence. The displaced responded by throwing stones. One camp resident was killed, and 26 people sustained minor injuries, 20 of them recovered the same day.

The Commissioner further pointed to a gunfight that reportedly broke out on Saturday between displaced and youths of the district adjacent to the camp.

Calm

Central Darfur Minister of Social Affairs and Information, Nada Ali Amin, reported on Sunday that calm had returned to the area after the police intervened to end the violence between the parties.

The soldier was released from the camp. Most of the wounded were discharged from the hospital, she said. The five damaged water engines at Azum Valley owned by people living in the area are being repaired by engineers from the state Ministry of Urban Planning.

Sudanese held in Darfur, Kordofan for alleged links with rebel groups

January 22 – 2018 NIERTETI / KOLOGI

Two people were detained by agents of the Military Intelligence in Tur in Central Darfur over the weekend. In Kologi in South Kordofan, Military Intelligence officers held three people on Friday. They are accused of assisting the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a listener reported that members of the Military Intelligence raided the house of Yousif Adam Haroun in Tur on Friday.

“They beat him before they took him to the Nierteti military garrison,” he said. “On Saturday, the same force returned and detained Adam Hasan Yagoub as well.”

The source added that both men “are suspected of aiding a rebel group in the area”.

Fuel

An activist reported from Kologi in South Kordofan that three people were held by Military Intelligence near the town on Friday. They are accused of smuggling fuel into an area controlled by the SPLM-N.

He said that Military Intelligence agents detained a lorry driver, his assistant, and a third person named Ahmed Ali Deifallah, while driving a lorry carrying fuel to an area called Wirana.

On Sunday, they were transferred to the military garrison of Abu Jubaiha.

(Update)

Death toll in Central Darfur camp shootings rises to five

January 23 – 2018 ZALINGEI

The death toll following the incidents at Hasahisa camp in Central Darfur over the weekend has risen to five after a young woman who was shot in the chest died in hospital.

Umelnas Jamal Ishag, a school student, participated in a protest held by displaced people in the Azum valley on Saturday when militiamen opened fire on the people, according to witness reports. Adam Rahma Abdallah and Abdallah Jibril Abakar were shot dead, and Ishag sustained wounds in her chest and thigh to which she succumbed yesterday morning in Zalingei Hospital.

El Shafi Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps for the displaced, told Radio Dabanga that the situation in the area is tense. “On Monday, members of the militia beat camp residents at their farms in Wadi Zur and Grash, two kilometers northeast of Hasahisa.”

He said that the attackers wounded four people: El Tayeb Abu Abdelmalik, Ibrahim Yousif Khalil, Amina Bakhit Mohamed and Aziza Babikir Mohamed. Some of them went to the health centre of the Norwegian Church aid organisation in Hasahisa camp and are on their way to Zalingei Hospital for treatment.

Abdallah denied the locality commissioner’s statement at a press conference in Zalingei on Sunday that there was “nothing but a clash between policemen and displaced people that resulted in the death of a man”.

“The incidents at the camp are documented and the major evidence is the use of bullets by the security forces and the government’s militias. These bullets were the cause of death of the five victims, along with the more than 26 wounded in Zalingei Hospital.”

Video of one of the clash between displaced people and militia members on Saturday. Gunshots can be heard (RD)

He asked the government to allow the AU-UN peacekeeping force (Unamid) to allow a team to visit the camp and investigate the incidents.

Multiple investigations

On Monday, Central Darfur Governor Jaafar Abdelhakam ordered the formation of a fact-finding committee on the incidents in Hasahisa, to be headed by the state’s highest prosecutor and deputy state police director. The committee should submit its report to the governor within a week.

In response, the Darfur Bar Association of pro-bono lawyers announced yesterday to form a fact-finding committee and publish the results of the investigation as soon as it is completed.

Protests

Displaced people have strongly condemned the indicents which resulted in the death of five people and wounding of at least 70 others, including children and elderly. Tension rose after a group of militiamen reportedly raided Hasahisa market on Friday. After a skirmish between militiamen and camp residents, the displaced people staged a protest march against the insecurity in the area.

According to camp coordinator Abdallah, “Security forces and militiamen responded to the march by shooting at the crowd. Abdelshafee Ishag Eisa and Sheima Abdeljabbar were fatally hit. 29 others were injured.”

The next morning, members of the militia set fire to the engines supplying water from Wadi Azum to the camp, which led the people to protest again. “This time, Adam Rahma Abdallah and Abdallah Jibril Abakar were shot dead. 15 other protesters sustained bullet wounds.”

RSF force Darfur merchants to set food prices

January 23 – 2018 GARSILA

Rapid Support Forces beat a trader in the Garsila crop market in Darfur on Monday after he refused to adjust the price for cereals. The market was closed after the incident.

Witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga that the members of the RSF, led by Ahmed Shagab, entered the crop market in Central Darfur and demanded merchants to set their price for cereals at SDG 40 ($5.70). They started beating Abdel Banat when he refused to do so.

A week ago, traders in a market in West Darfur faced the same demands made by RSF members. Four of thetraders were arrested as they refused to lower their prices. Others protested and closed the market.

The prices of consumer goods such as sugar, flour, spaghetti, oil and milk in markets in Sudan have soread. In early January, the Sudanese markets were hit by the consequences of financial measures taken by the government based on the 2018 National Budget.

Price control

In Khartoum, President Omar Al Bashir directed the competent authorities to dismantle what he called the monopoly of commodity prices, to control prices, and monitor the markets on a daily basis, in order to ensure that goods are easily accessible to the people in Sudan.

During a meeting yesterday, Al Bashir instructed the authorities to discuss exchange rate controls with the Ministries of Trade and Industry, in coordination with concerned parties. This would happen in discussion with “private government factories” that have direct outlets for their products so as to ease burdens on Sudanese people.

African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies

Five IDPs killed as SAF and RSF use live ammunition to disperse a protest in Central Darfur

(24 January 2018) At least 5 people were killed and 26 others sustained gunshot wounds when joint forces of Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) opened live ammunition on a crowd of protestors at Hasahisa camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Zalingi, Central Darfur, on 20 January.

On 20 January, at 3 pm, the joint forces raided Tololo market, located inside the camp, and fired live ammunition at a crowd of IDPs while they protested against the insecurity and the continuous attacks on residents in the camp by the Janjaweed militias. According to reliable source, the joint forces fired indiscriminately into the crowd of IDPs killing three men and two women and injuring 26 others who sustained gunshot wounds and are currently receiving medical treatment at Zalingi hospital.

The names of the deceased are:

Abdel Shafi Adam Mohamed, (m)

Shiema Abdel Jabbar Issa, (f)

Abdella Jebril Abakar, (m)

Nafi Rahma Abdel Kareem, (m)

Om Alnas Jamal Ishag, (f)

The names of those injured are:

Abdel Majid Idrees Ibrahim, (m)

Abdel Razig Zakaria Ishag, (m)

Ibrahim Abbas Khamees, (m)

Azrag Basheer, (m)

Ayman Mohamadain Abdel Rawoof, (m)

Alfadil Abdalla, (m)

Maryem Mohamed Abdel Shafi, (f)

Bakri Adam Arbab, (m)

Ayman Abdel Malik Ismail, (m)

Omar Ismail, (m)

Isra Abdel Shafi, (f)

Maryem Abdella Mohamed, (f)

Haleema Idrees Mohamed, (f)

Hiba Adam Ibrahim, (f)

Fatima Mohamed Sowar, (f)

Nidal Abdel Rahman Haroon, (f)

Nadia Yagoub Ateem, (f)

Arafa Ahmed Ismail, (f)

Mohamed Alsadig, (m)

Nasr Aldeen Fadoul Rahma, (m)

Nada Babikir, (f)

Haleema Abdel Rasoul, (f)

Zubaida Yagoub Salih, (f)

Mahanna Ahmed Abdel Hameed, (f)

Arafa Ali Abaker, (f)

Mowada Altahir, (f)

On 21 January, the joint forces set ablaze nine water pumps used to supply water to the IDP camp. The destruction of the water pumps exacerbates the socio-economic situation of the IDPs who often face difficulties in accessing enough water resources. It also places IDPs at risk of attacks such as sexual violence as they would have to travel distances to access the needed water resources.

Protest killings have taken place in a climate of total impunity. Immunities provided in law to government officials, including members of the NISS, SAF and the police have prevented effective investigations into allegations of the excessive use of force and resulted in a lack of prosecutions for the perpetration of these and other human rights violations.

Authorities should conduct an urgent investigation with a view to identifying and prosecuting persons responsible for the killing 5 IDPs and injury of 26 IDPs. Findings of the investigation should be made public and those responsible should be held accountable before an independent and impartial court. Authorities must further ensure that medical and other appropriate support services are available to all those in need including the 26 injured displaced persons. The Government should condemn the destruction of the water pumps and provide restitution to the IDPs through re-installation of water pumps to ensure that water flow to the camp is restored. It should be made clear to authorities involved in the destruction of property will be held liable for their actions.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls on the Sudanese authorities to immediately put in place measures to protect civilians in and around Hasahisa IDP camp.

ACJPS reiterates previous calls to the Sudanese authorities to ensure that the policing of assemblies must respect human rights and must be carried out in accordance with international standards, which prohibit the use of force unless strictly necessary and proportionate. It should also be made clear that arbitrary or abusive use of force by security forces will be punished as a criminal offence.

The international community, particularly the European Union, United States, and African Union, should publicly and privately press the Sudanese government to meet its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law and to ensure unfettered access by UNAMID peacekeepers to all parts of Darfur especially the IDP camps.

NISS agents detain camp resident in Central Darfur

February 11 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Officers of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) held a man at his home in the Hasahisa camp for the displaced in Central Darfur last week.

El Shafee Abdallah, Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps, told Dabanga Radio that members of the security apparatus raided the shelter of Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim in the Hasahisa camp on Wednesday.

He was taken to the NISS offices in Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur

“Ibrahim works for a transportation agency at the Zalingei Market, and as far as we know he has never been involved in politics,” the coordinator said.

He said that Ibrahim’s family is concerned that he may be maltreated by the NISS agents, and called for his immediate release.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Man, boy killed by armed herders in Darfur

February 11 – 2018 SHATTAIA / NIERTETI

Four people were killed and wounded in Central Darfur in two separate incidents last week.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a farmer reported from Shattaia locality in South Darfur that armed herders on horses raided the land of his colleague Yasin Zakariya Siraj on Thursday.

“They immediately began to shoot,” he said. “Yasin was killed instantly. His wife Halima Mohamed Suleiman and his brother Jaafar were seriously wounded.”

A listener stold this station that militant herdsmen attacked a group of displaced people who were returning home after collecting firewood west of Nierteti. “They seized two of their donkeys loaded with wood and straw.”

“A rapidly formed search posse hunted down the thieves,” he said. “In the ensuing gunfight, Daoud was fatally hit by a stray bullet.”

(Report also in South Darfur)

Govt. militia beat, rob residents of South Darfur camp

March 4 – 2018 GIREIDA / NIERTETI

A number of people were injured in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Gireida camp for the displaced on Wednesday. Herders robbed villagers in Nierteti in Central Darfur on Thursday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a resident of the Gireida camp for the displaced in South Darfur said that a force of RSF militiamen in five vehicles stormed the camp on Wednesday evening.

“They searched for Adamo Adam, Ageel Mousa, and Mousa Mosbil. When they did not find them at home, they asked their relatives and neighbours about their whereabouts, and severely beat them with their rifle butts and sticks,” he said.

“Some people were seriously injured, in particular Sawarin Adam Osman, who had to be transferred to Gireida Hospital in critical condition.”

The source said that the attackers stole SDG 23,000 ($ 1,270*) cash from the house of trader Adamo Adam, and a number of mobile telephones from the displaced.

He added that they filed a complaint with the police of Gireida.

Herders

A group of militant herdsmen intercepted a number of villagers north of Nierteti in Central Darfur on Thursday.

“We were on our way home in Jebel Marra, after shopping at Nierteti Market, when the janjaweed stopped us and beat us with their whips,” one of the victims reported. “They then took all the foodstuffs we bought, our mobile phones and our money.”

* Based on the official US Dollar rate quoted by theCentral Bank of Sudan (CBoS)

Govt. forces attack villagers in Central Darfur

March 5 – 2018 NIERTETI

Two Central Darfur villagers were wounded by militiamen in separate incidents over the weekend.

Three members of the Rapid Support Forces, Sudan’s main militia, intercepted Abdallah Mousa in Tur in Nierteti locality on Saturday.

“Abdallah was on his way home after a visit to the market of Tur, when he was attacked,” a relative told Radio Dabanga.

“They stripped him of his clothes, beat him severely, and then seized his donkey and the goods he had bought.”

He said that the victim was transferred to the Health Insurance Centre in Tur after the incident was reported to the paramilitary Central Reserve Police (Abu Tira) in the area.

The source added that on Sunday, another villager was injured in Nierteti on Sunday.

“Three militiamen of the Border Guards ambushed Mousa Abdelkarim while he was returning to his village after collecting firewood,” he said. “They severely beat him. He had to be transferred to the hospital of Nierteti with a broken hand and head injuries.”

The incident was reported to the police in Nierteti.

SRF condemns government raid on Central Darfur village – Video

March 14 – 2018 ARTALA

The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) has strongly condemned attacks by Sudanese government forces on the inhabitants of Artala village in Central Darfur.

A statement issued by the Revolutionary Front said that the tribal militias of the government and its security services gathered the residents of the village in a humiliating manner after they were confirmed to be free of weapons, beat them with whips and seized their property.

Mohamed Zakariya, the spokesman for the SRF, described what happened to the residents of the village as “a shameful state crime against unarmed people and a blatant violation of the rights of citizenship”.

In its statement, the SRF also condemned the ongoing crackdown on freedoms and the arrest of activists by the security services and reiterated its call for the immediate and unconditional release of all the political detainees and the prisoners of war.

A video widely circulated via by social media (see above) this week shows government forces beating and harassing dozens of men of the village. It has drawn widespread condemnation among activists and human rights defenders demanding the government authorities to form a committee of inquiry into the incident described as shameful.

Deribat

Asa reported yesterday by Radio Dabanga, Members of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) stationed at Deribat in Darfur’s east Jebel Marra stormed the weekly village market, assaulted the people, arrested eight of them and injured six others on Sunday morning.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Two women dead, two men injured in South Darfur livestock raid

March 19 – 2018 GOKO

Two women were killed and two men injured in an attack by gunmen on Goko village north of Nyala, capital of South Darfur on Saturday night.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the gunmen riding camels and horses attacked the village, and stole 81 head of cattle and 35 goats and sheep. When the owners of the livestock confronted them, they opened fire and killed Aisha Yagoub and Maryam Suleiman and seriously wounded Hamid Mousa and Hamid Yousef.

Abduction

On Thursday three displaced people were abducted by militiamen in Central Darfur. The kidnappers have demanded a ransom of SDG 30,000 ($for their release.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps reported that on Thursday militias attacked three displaced people while collecting firewood at Sinan Kar area west of Zalingei, took them to an unknown destination, called their relatives and then demanded a ransom of SDG 30,000 (*$1,666) for the release of Suleiman Ibrahim, Adil Mohamed and Fuoad Mohamed.

The coordinator said they reported the incident to the police who did not move to rescue the abductees and arrest the perpetrators.

* Based on the official US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS)

Sudan Tribune

Central Darfur closes roads leading to Golo area: governor
March 19, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Governor of Central Darfur State Ga’afar Abdel-Hakam said they closed some roads in Golo and Nirtiti areas to prevent what he described as “criminal activities” carried out by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW). Speaking during a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. embassy in Khartoum led by the head of the political section Alice Payne, Abdel-Hakam claimed the SLM-AW elements stole cattle from some shepherds during the last couple of days.

According to Ashorooq TV, Abdel-Hakam also accused the rebels of causing the deadly fire that destroyed a number of villages in the state last week. The governor pointed out that the security situation in the state is stable following the decision of President Omer al-Bashir to extend the unilateral cessation of hostilities for six months in all war zones.

Central Darfur sheikh abducted, merchants beaten by RSF

March 20 – 2018 DIMO

The Sheikh of Dimo village, 35 km north of Nierteti in Central Darfur, was beaten and abducted by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia on Saturday. The militia also beat two market traders.

Residents of Dimo village told Radio Dabanga that members of the RSF in a land cruiser mounted with a Dushka machinegun attacked Adam Abdelmawla while he was tilling his farm at Dimo village. The reportedly beat him and threw him into the vehicle at gunpoint and took him to an unknown destination.

They said they reported the incident to the police at Sagadir near Nierteti.

At the market of Sagadir, RSF elements reportedly beat merchants Abakar Eisa and Haroun Yagoub and tortured them for six hours.

Merchants in the market told Radio Dabanga that RSF elements beat Abakar Eisa, a shoe dealer on the pretext that the prices for his shoes are too high.

They said the same forces also attacked Haroun Yagoub on charges of buying and supplying sorghum to the armed movements.

Witness told Radio Dabanga that the RSF tied the two men to a tree in the market and flogged them with whips for about six hours.

Witnesses confirmed that the two men were taken away after being released, bleeding and in a critical condition.

The fighting has left an unknown number of civilians and combatants dead and wounded, and displaced thousands. On Thursday afternoon, fleeing civilians told Radio Dabanga that Sara Ali Haroun and three of her children Musab, Hassan, and Hussein were killed during the fighting at Sina area southeast of Jebel Marra, which are the last strongholds of the forces of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

One of the survivors of the fighting told Radio Dabanga, that yesterday the clashes were renewed north of Sina area which was captured by the government forces from the movement on Wednesday.

He said thousands of families have been displaced from Feina area after government forces and their militias burned all the food stocks in the villages and left the civilians in a very poor humanitarian situation.

He appealed to humanitarian and human rights organisations to urgently intervene to save thousands of fleeing civilians and provide food and urgent protection to them.

SLM-AW: ‘Great losses in [Govt.] lives and equipment’

The SLM-AW claims that its forces “managed to respond to the government attack on Jebel Marra causing them great losses in lives and equipment”.

In a statement, the movement’s spokesman said that the SLM-AW forced the government forces to retreat, leaving their dead and vehicles in the battlefields.

“The bravery of the movement’s forces has thwarted all the regime’s claims through its misguided propaganda machine, which claims to have controlled Jebel Marra and the liberated land and the repeating lies of the regime leaders about the end of the armed movements.”

Sudan Tribune

Fresh clashes erupt between Sudan army, SLM-AW in Jebel Marra

March 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) A new round of clashes has erupted between the Sudanese army and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur in Jebel Marra area. In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, SLM-AW spokesperson Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nayer accused the government forces of attacking their positions in Jebel Marra. He said the Movement fighters have clashed with government forces on Wednesday and Thursday in Fina, Dalo and Dowa areas of Jebel Marra in South Darfur State.

Al-Nayer pointed out that government forces on 100 vehicles and camel and horses back sought to enter Dolda area, saying their fighters clashed with the attacking force killing a number of them and destroying 3 vehicles and a fuel tanker truck. He also said the two sides clashed south of Darbat area and in Soro area.

However, a government source in Central Darfur State told Sudan Tribune the government forces are now dealing with SLM-AW fighters who descend from the top of the Jebel Marra mountain “to loot the residents”.

He stressed the SLM-AW doesn’t control any parts of Jebel Marra in Central Darfur State.

Last week, governor of Central Darfur State Ga’afar Abdel-Hakam said they closed some roads in Golo and Nirtiti areas, Jebel Marra to prevent what he described as “criminal activities” carried out by the SLM-AW fighters.

Militiamen besiege Dambar in Central Darfur

March 26 – 2018 DAMBAR

Security tensions in the southeast of Mukjar locality in Central Darfur have caused the closure of the Dambar Market since Friday.

“A large group of heavily armed militiamen on motorcycles surrounded the market of Dambar on Friday morning,” a resident of the town reported to Radio Dabanga. “Fearing an attack, the traders immediately closed their shops and stalls.”

The source said that the reasons for the siege are unknown. “They just came out of the blue,” he said.

The added that residents of Dambar and the surrounding villages have called on the Governor of Central Darfur and the Commissioner of Mukjar to either come to Dambar or to deploy a large military force “to save the area from a disaster as soon as possible”.

RSF militiamen plunder market in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

March 26 – 2018 JEBEL MARRA

Two people were wounded in an attack reportedly by paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on villagers in southern Jebel Marra on Saturday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, listeners said that RSF troops riding in 25 Land Cruisers, backed by others on more than 70 camels and horses, shot a group of people on their way to the weekly market of Kara on Saturday afternoon.

“When the janjaweed neared the market, they began shooting around them. Adam Waddoura and Amran Ahmed were seriously wounded by the bullets,” a villager reported.

“They then proceeded to the market, where they beat the people with their whips and sticks before they plundered the shops and robbed all the customers of their goods, money, mobile phones, and donkeys. They then left towards the area of Umelgura.”

The sources all said that the militiamen came from the area of Sina, where fighting erupted between government forces and combatants of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) last week.

Ezzeldin Sambala, the spokesman for the SLM-AW strongly condemned the attack. “This incident again confirms the extent of the involvement of the regime and its militias in brutal crimes against our defenceless people,” he told this station.

He claimed that the “many militiamen in the region are still fully armed”, and called the disarmament campaign in Darfur “one big lie”.

At least 11 people were killed and 21 others were injured in attacks by paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on villages in South Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Saturday.

Multiple sources told Radio Dabanga that members of the RSF, Sudan’s main militia, riding in 18 vehicles and others on more than 50 motorcycles, backed by gunmen on more than 100 camels and horses, attacked villages in the area of Sawani on Saturday morning.

Villages in the area of Terongafogi and Owru, 10 kilometres north-east of Libei, were attacked as well, causing the people to flee to nearby valleys and mountain tops.

After plundering the villages, the attackers set fire to the houses. They took with them hundreds of livestock as well, the sources reported.

The sources mentioned three children among the 11 people that were killed during the attack on Sawani: Adam Teirab (5), Ezzeldin Ali (7) and Hawa Yousef (8).

On Friday, government forces launched an attack on Sawani and Rokona in East Jebel Marra. Both areas are strongholds of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW). The clashes between the two sides continued on Saturday.

Mohamed Abdallah El Nayer, the spokesman for the SLM-AW, said in a statement on Sunday that the rebels managed to defeat the government forces. They forced them to flee the battlefields leaving their dead, destroyed vehicles, and seized a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. Four rebel fighters, including a commander, were killed.

El Nayer said that tens of villages burned to ashes. Thousands of people are hiding in caves and valleys in the area “in a catastrophic humanitarian situation. They lack food, medicines, and shelter”.

According to the statement, the government forces are continuing the government’s “scorched earth policy, for the purpose of demographic change through forced displacement”.

Stranded

On March 9, army and militia forces attacked the area of Jawa, south of Deribat in East Jebel Marra, in an attempt to clear the region of the last rebel strongholds.

Five days later, fighting erupted in the areas of Feina and Dawa. Thousands of people were displaced. Sources saidthat the government forces succeeded to completely take over the area of Feina.

According to reports on Thursday, the militia troops began to withdraw to El Malam and Umelgura which are the headquarters and home-town of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan (aka Hemeti).

According to activists in south-east Jebel Marra, the thousands of villagers stranded in mountain caves are in dire need of humanitarian aid. They called on Unamid in South and North Darfur “to assume their responsibility and move immediately to the areas of Libei, Sawani, and Terongafogi where the fighting is ongoing”.

The activists further called on the government of South Darfur and Unamid “to rapidly access the area of Feina area that was attacked last week, to rescue the people hiding [.. there] in mountain caves east Jebel Marra, and the area of Barkoro in North Darfur which was attacked on Friday”. They said that the people may die from hunger and thirst “if Unamid does not come to protect them soon”.

Cease-fire

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) has strongly condemned the renewed fighting in East Jebel Marra and the attacks on “innocent civilians” in the region.

In a statement on Sunday, the DBA denounced the clashes “that reached its peak on March 30 and 31, in the areas of Sawani, Rokona, and Feina”, and “forced hundreds of elderly, women and children to resort to valleys, trenches, slopes, and caves of the mountains”.

The Darfur lawyers appealed to the international community “to force the parties to respect the rights of innocent civilians, guaranteed by national laws, charters, and international conventions”.

They called on relief organisations to provide urgent assistance to the victims of the conflict.

The DBA also urged the international community to compel the government in Khartoum “to respect its extended cease-fire”.

On Wednesday, President Omar Al Bashir issued a decree extending the government’s unilateral cease-fire in the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile states) for another three months. Al Bashir said that the purpose of the cease-fire extension is to stabilise the country.

Sudan Tribune

SLM-AW says clashes with Sudanese forces continue in Jebel Marra

April 2, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan Liberation Movement- Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) said clashes continue with the Sudanese government troops in eastern Jebel Marra, pointing that civilians have fled the area. More than a week ago, SLM-AW spokesperson Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nayer accused the government forces of attacking their positions in Fina, Dalo and Dowa areas of Jebel Marra in South Darfur State.

Last Sunday, al-Nayer issued another statement saying they repulsed another attack on 30 and 31 March on their positions in Soani Rakonnoa in eastern Jebel Marra. “The Liberation Army was able to defeat the enemy forces after inflicting heavy losses in lives and equipment (to the enemy,” said the rebel spokesperson adding they “forced them to flee the battlefield, leaving their dead and destroyed vehicles and a lot of weapons and ammunition”. The statement said four rebel fighters were killed during the clashes including a rebel commander identified as ’Sepja’. The Sudanese army for its part didn’t issue a statement about the fighting. Also, local authorities were not reachable for comment on these claims.

Central Darfur officials used to point to the government unilateral cessation of hostilities declaration and speak about limited operations against rebel elements to stop looting on commercial convoys.

The rebel official further accused the “regime’s militia” of burning “the villages and properties of the defenceless civilians in the attacked areas”, stressing it was part of a government strategy aiming to achieve “demographic change”. He added the displaced are in a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the absence of food, medicine and shelter. The spokesperson also reiterated their rejection to join the African Union-brokered peace process. “Our battle with the regime will continue and we will not compromise or be part of any dialogue with the genocidal regime, no matter how great the challenges, and despite the increasing regional and international pressures”.

Second deadly attack in Darfur’s Jebel Marra in days

April 3 – 2018 DUBO EL OMDA

A man was killed by gunmen near Dubo El Omda in eastern Jebel Marra on Monday morning. A displaced man in Central Darfur has been abducted.

Armed men shot and killed Abdelshafee Eisa Mohamed near Robkona, 15 km south of Dubo El Omda in Tawila locality on Monday morning. The attack occurred two days after two villagers were killed by armed herders west of Dubo El Omda. Tawila locality is popularly known as eastern Jebel Marra.

A family member of Eisa Mohamed told Radio Dabanga that seven gunmen on camels intercepted him as he was on his way to a water well to fetch water for his cattle. He was killed on the spot.

The attackers seized twelve cows and a horse and fled.

Kidnap

On Monday morning, Abdelaziz Abdelrahman Mousa from Hasaheisa camp for displaced people in Central Darfur’s Zalingei was kidnapped by gunmen while he went out to collect firewood.

Central Darfur camp coordinator El Shafee Abdallah told this station that five gunmen on horses intercepted Mousa at gunpoint and took him to an unknown destination.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Blind sheikh detained in Central Darfur

April 4 – 2018 ZALINGEI

On Monday afternoon the security services arrested Sheikh Matar Younis, a cleric and native administrator in Darfur, from his home in the stadium district of Zalingei.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of displaced camps in Central Darfur, told Dabanga radio that a security force arrested the sheikh from his house and took him to their offices.

Abdallah explained that Sheikh Younis, a blind, prominent cleric who is over 60 years old, has a Koran School in Zalingei.

He said that Sheikh Younis always stood with the concerns of the Sudanese people, especially the displaced. He condemned the arrest of the activist cleric and called for his release and held the security services and the state responsible for any harm afflicting him.

Attack

Two people were wounded by gunfire by militiamen in an attack on the villages of Dubo El Omda in Tawila locality in North Darfur.

People told Radio Dabanga that the attack was carried out by a group of militias in two Land Cruisers, and on motorcycles, camels and horses.

They said that at around 8 am on Tuesday the gunmen fired the densely populated villages of Dubo El Omda, wounding Hamdallah Yousif Hamid and Ibrahim Ishag Younis. They then stormed the villages and seized about 400 cows and left the area.

Voluntary work activists estimated the number of those fleeing their villages in the eastern areas of Jebel Marra after the government attacks at about 50,000. Activists told Radio Dabanga that these civilians have been displaced from the areas of Sawani, Terongafogi, Owru, and Rokona after the government attack and the battles with the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

Activists said the civilians in the caves are sleeping on stones with no water or food.

The spokesman of the association Hussein Abusharati called on them via Radio Dabanga to urgently rescue the civilians and provide them with food and medicine.

Robbery

On Tuesday one person was killed and five were wounded in an armed robbery at Sortony – Kabkabiya road in North Darfur.

Passengers reported that gunmen opened fire on a commercial vehicle on its way from Kabkabiya to Sortony, instantly killed assistant driver Adam Abdelsadig, 18 and wounded Abdelrazig Juma, the driver of the vehicle, Fatima Ahmed, Saleh Abdelkarim, and brothers Gamareldin and Najmeldin Ahmed Abdelkarim.

A passenger confirmed that the gunmen robbed them of cash, baggage, and goods and then fled.

Militiamen arrest, beat man and boy in Central Darfur

April 10 – 2018 NIERTETI / EAST JEBEL MARRA

Militiamen beat a boy and a man after arresting them in a market in Central Darfur on Saturday. In Jebel Marra, gunmen burned sacks of charcoal during a robbery.

Mohamed Adam Omar, aged 57, and 13-year-old Hussein Mohamed Adam were beaten by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after they arrested them at Gurni market in Nierteti locality, Central Darfur.

Witnesses at Gurni market told Radio Dabanga that seven militia members arrived in the market in a Land Cruiser with a Dushka machine gun mounted on top. Mohamed, who works as a butcher in the market, was arrested together with his assistant.

“They were taken to an unknown destination,” a witness said. “The same day both of them were transferred to Nierteti hospital in a poor health condition.” Mohamed Adam Omar was in a coma at the time of reporting yesterday.

Robbery Jebel Marra

Gunmen have stolen donkeys and have burned 50 sacks of charcoal meant for sale at El Aradib El Ashara in eastern Jebel Marra.

A listener told Radio Dabanga that the incident took place on Sunday night at a charcoal factory, operated by Hamid Ibrahim, Abu Bakr Eisa, Adam Yacoub and Mohamed Younis.

A source confirmed that armed herders, who arrived on camels, opened fire into the air before they set fire to the charcoal sacks and stole four donkeys from the workers.

Gunmen assault three children in Central Darfur

April 16 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Gunmen wounded three children near the Hamidiya camp for the displaced in Zalingei locality in Central Darfur on Sunday.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, El Shafee Abdallah, coordinator of the Central Darfur camps, reported that three gunmen attacked young firewood collectors on Sunday morning.

“After Rufeida Suleiman (10) Mousa Adam (12), and Amin Abdelkarim (15) had left the camp to collect firewood in the area of Karadito, three janjaweedintercepted them and beat them up.”

He said that a number of camp residents saw what happened and ran to the place. “They managed to seize one of the attackers and handed him to the police.”

April 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sexual assaults remain high in Darfur region despite the improvement of security situation in Darfur, said the UN Secretary general in a report to the Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence released on Monday. “While the rate of new displacements was lower in 2017 than in previous years, and humanitarian access had improved, sexual violence remained prevalent, owing to a volatile security environment awash with small arms and light weapons, criminality and sporadic clashes,” reads the report.

In his report on the conflict-related sexual violence in 2017, the secretary general praised the weapons collection campaign, the decline of tribal clashes, and the significant reduction of clashes between the government forces and rebel groups. Also, he pointed to the low rate of new displacement.

However, he said the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in 2017 reported 152 cases of rape, affecting 84 women, 66 girls and 2 boys, across the five states of Darfur. He underlined a decrease from the 222 victims in 2016.

The report said 70% of the rape cases are perpetrated by “armed men or militia members in civilian attire”, while the remaining 30% are committed by the government regular forces and militia including the Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, border guards and members of the Sudanese Police Force.

It also points that the spike in sexual violence coincides with the farming season, particularly along the migration routes of armed nomadic herders, from July to October.

During the first years of the Darfur conflict, rape cases mainly occurred around the camps of displaced persons with few sexual assaults in remote areas. “In some cases, security fears have forestalled the return of civilians to their villages of origin. In one incident, a family living in West Darfur, which had previously fled to Chad as refugees, were forced back across the border into Chad after a relative was gang-raped, for fear of further attacks,” the report reads pointing to the fragile security situation in Darfur.

Attacks by Sudanese government forces on civilians in Jebel Marra in South Darfur

(18 April 2018) From 9 March – 2 April 2018, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) has documented a number of attacks perpetrated against civilian targets in East Jebel Marra in South Darfur state by the Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces and other government sponsored militias. The attacks took place in the villages of: Feina, Dalo, Dawa , Dolda , Libei, Sawani ,Rakoona, Fouli, Duwa, and Kidineer. At least 15,000 civilians have been displaced to the neighbouring mountains in each area. In the areas of Jawa, Seena , Feina , Dawa Sawani and Rakoona at least 23 civilians were killed and tens seriously injured, 12 villages were set on fire and burnt to the ground. The attacks were precipitated by fighting in Eastern Jebel Marra between the government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid (SLA-AW).

ACJPS calls on the Government of Sudan to immediately put in place measures to protect civilians in Jebel Marra, South Darfur State and respect customary international law obligations regarding internal armed conflicts which prohibit deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians even where there may be armed elements amongst civilians, attacks aimed at terrorizing civilians, and attacks against civilian objects. The principle of distinction between civilians and combatants – that is people taking an active part in hostilities – prohibits the targeting of civilians in all circumstances.

ACJPS condemns all arbitrary attacks on civilians and calls on the Government of Sudan to cease attacks in civilian areas and:

Officially and publicly condemn arbitrary attacks, unlawful killings and make it clear that these acts are absolutely prohibited and will be prosecuted.

Launch an independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attacks in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur and guarantee that their findings are published promptly and within a clear timeframe. The findings of investigations conducted by the Sudanese authorities on previous human rights violations in Darfur have never been published.

Put in place tightened restrictions on the use and supply of arms and ammunitions. A concerted effort to control arms and ammunition in the region should be launched, as well as controls over the use of government vehicles and ammunition and the presence of militias and weapons in public places.

Repeal all legal provisions granting immunities to police officers, members of the National Intelligence and Security Services, Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces.

Establish a compensation fund for the families of the victims.

Ensure that any victims of sexual violence have access to appropriate medical and legal services.

ACJPS calls on the international community, particularly the European Union, United States, and African Union, to publicly and privately press the Sudanese government to meet its legal obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, and end deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, torture, rape and looting. The Sudanese government should ensure unfettered access by UNAMID peacekeepers and humanitarian actors to all parts of Darfur including those most affected by conflict.

Attacks in Jawa, south of Deribat

On 9 March 2018, three civilians were injured during fighting between government forces and SLA-AW in the area of Jawa, south of Deribat, in East Jebel Marra. They include:

Ishag Idrees

Dawood Haroun

Hessainn Hamid

The three were transferred to Rakoona, west of Jawa, for medical treatment.

Attacks in Seena area South East of Jebel Marra

On the afternoon of 22 March 2018, fighting was renewed in the Seena area, South East of Jebel Marra between the government forces and the SLA -AW. As a result 4 civilians were killed. They include:

Sara Ali Haroun

Hassan Ammed

Mosaab Ahmed

Hasseeb Ahmed

Attacks in East Jebel Marra

On 28 March 2018, the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces backed by the government sponsored militia attacked scores of houses in the villages of Feina, Dalo, Dawa, Dolda , Libei, Sawani, Rabkona, Fouli, Duwa, and Kidineer in East Jebel Marra.

During the attack, at least 3 civilians were killed and 12 others were injured. The 12 injured were taken to a medical facility in Feina to receive treatment. ACJPS was able to obtain details of six of the 12 injured persons. They include:

Taha Mohamedain Salih

Abakar Murra

Suliman Adam Wadi

Hawaya Abdelhaleem Osman

Jaleela Ahmed Norain

Toma Hamad Alhaj

The names of the deceased are:

Haleema Adam Alfaki

Hamid Ishag Hamid

Ismail Yahya Abdulahi

That same day, 28 March 2018, at least two people were seriously wounded when a bomb hit their house in the Sawani area in East Jebel Marra. They were taken to a medical facility in Sawani to receive medical attention. Their names are:

Ismail Hussein Yahya

Ayoub Hussein Yahya

On the morning of 31 March 2018, members of the RSF, traveling in more than 20 vehicles and tens of motorcycles, backed by the government sponsored militia riding camels and horses, attacked villages in the area of Sawani and Rakoona. During the attack, at least 16 people were killed in Sawani and livestock was looted in both Sawani and Rakoona. ACJPS also received information that a number of people sustained injuries during the attack. ACJPS was able to obtain the names of the 16 deceased persons. They are:

Izel Din Ali

Hawa Yousef

Sara Omar

Ibrahim Hamid

Adam Tairab

Osman Adam Ishag

Fadil Hassan Abdel Kareem

Abdul Basit Ali

Adam Ahmed Mohamed

Jamal Mahmoud

Abdel Azeem Abbakar

Shamsel Din Adam

Jar Enabi Ahmed Mahmoud

Zahra Adam Silieman

Abdel razag Ibrahim Altahir

Safa Hamid Ali

On the morning of 2 April 2018, at least two men were killed by the RSF in Rakoona, near Debo Alomda in East Jebel Marra. Their names are:

Abdelshafi Mohamed

Ahmed Adam Issa

Background

In 2015 the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan characterized the Government strategy in Darfur as one of “collective punishment” and “induced or forced displacement” of communities from which the armed opposition groups are believed to come or operate. The majority of civilians in Jebel Marra are from the Fur ethnic group, who have been particularly targeted by the Sudanese government since the outbreak of the conflict in 2003.

Initially a paramilitary group, the RSF now functions as a regular force of the Government of Sudan following the passage of the 2016 Rapid Support Forces Act, which integrates the RSF into the Armed Forces of the country, and provides for the commander of the RSF to be appointed by the President.

ACJPS also documented a number of attacks on civilian villages between 28 May-15 June 2017 in Central and North Darfur. In late June and early July 2017, ACJPS documented a continuing trend of targeted attacks on civilians in Central and North Darfur. The attacks on civilians appear to have been prompted by the earlier clashes between Government and armed opposition forces, and intended to punish or otherwise intimidate civilians living in the areas of rebel activity.

Sudan Tribune

SLM-AW says fierce clashes taking place in Darfur’s Jebel Marra
April 22, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan Liberation Movement – Abed Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) Sunday released a short statement claiming that its fighters are under fierce attacks of the government forces in northern Jebel Marra. Last March and during the first two weeks of April, the SLM-AW spoke about fighting in eastern and southern parts of Jebel Marra, stressing that civilians are in dire need of humanitarian aid. The rebel group since Friday have released three statement speaking about clashes with government forces in different areas of northern Jebel Marra saying a significant number of civilians fled their villages as result of the attacks. “Our forces are engaged in a fierce battle against government forces in Katti area of Jaldu locality,” said the SLM-AW in a short statement on Sunday.

On Saturday the group mentioned the displacement of thousands of civilians in northern Jebel Marra, saying the government forces were waging a scorched earth campaign and burning villages. On Friday the holdout group claimed that the government militias burnt the villages of Hilla Hajja Madina, Sankara, Loki warrro, and Gharab Waffir. The inhabitants of these villages fled to other areas forests and mountains to protect themselves. The statement added that the villagers fled their areas of Slo, Dardro, Vtakrja, Kry, Kaya, Hilla Ow Moya, Caginari, Dar Al Aman, Mery, Aw Gharb, Kata, Hilla Oh Abdo Ahmed and Kara.

The SLM-AW estimated the number of displaced persons at 30,000,00, but neither the UNMAID nor humanitarian actors in the Central Darfur State were not reachable for comment on these figures.

Also, none of the two observers issued a statement speaking about a massive displacement of civilians recently.

Militiamen plunder, burn 13 villages in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

April 23 – 2018 JEBEL MARRA

At least 30,000 people fled their homes during attacks by large groups of militiamen on 13 villages in northern Jebel Marra on Thursday and Friday.

The villagers fled towards Rokoro, according to statements of the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) on Friday and Saturday.

After plundering the villages, the attackers set the houses on fire. The newly displaced are in dire need of aid, the SLM-AW stated.

On Sunday, the rebel movement reported fierce fighting between its combatants and government forces in the area of Jaldo in northern Jebel Marra.

The SLM-AW strongly denied the claims by Sudan’s Arab Baath Party, which said in a statement on Saturday that the militiamen burned the villages in retaliation, after some members of the SLM-AW killed camel herders and stole a number of camels from Tawa village on Wednesday.

In its statement, the Arab Baath Party has called on humanitarian organisations to provide relief to the victims and to rebuild their villages.

Offensives

During the dry seasons (roughly between January-and May) in the past years, government forces have made various attempts to eliminate the SLM-AW bases in the Jebel Marra region.

In March this year, rebel sites in East Jebel Marra were attacked. The fighting caused an estimated 50,000 people to flee their villages in the area.

Last year, the attacks focused on northwest Jebel Marra. According to an RSF spokesman in February 2017, Darfur became “free of armed movements, suspects, and outlaws, except for a small [SLM-AW] group stationed at the top of Jebel Marra”.

In 2016, more than 80,000 people were displaced by a major military offensive against the holdout rebels in the mountainous region of the Jebel Marra.

Sudan Tribune

SLM-TC confirms clashes in Darfur’s Jebel Marra with Sudanese forces
April 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC) said on Thursday that their fighters have clashed with the government forces in Jebel Marra confirming reports about military operations in the mountainous areas of Central Darfur States.

Recently the SLM- Abdel Wahid al-Nur said the government militia are attacking their position in southeastern and northern Jebel Marra. But the government official spoke about operations to secure the routes and stop harassment of civilians by the holdout rebels. SPM -TC chairman Elhadi Idriss Yahya told Sudan Tribune that their group “has dealt with government attacks in the north and east of Jebel Marra”.

However, he said they are no coordination with the SLA-AW fighters pointing the latter are based in the western part of Jebel Marra.

Sudan Tribune

Some 11, 500 IDPs arrive at Jebel Marra camp
May 3, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Recent inter-communal clashes in Jebel Marra area have displaced some 11, 500 civilians, said a UN humanitarian agency in a news bulletin released on Thursday. “At least 2,280 newly displaced households (about 11,500 people) arrived in Rokero town and nearby Jemeza village after 18 April, following fighting between armed nomads and sedentary farmer tribes,” said the UNOCHA.

According to the monthly humanitarian news bulletin, the local authorities and IDP leaders said that many homes had been burnt, and other villagers have been displaced into the mountains. The joint assessment team that visited the affected area said the IDPs are in need of emergency shelter, non-food items, food and access to water and sanitation services.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Displaced people attacked, killed in South Darfur

May 4 – 2018 GIREIDA / RABKONA / NIERTETI

One man was killed while others were wounded in an attack by gunmen in Gireida locality in South Darfur on Wednesday evening. Robbers killed a merchant in Jebel Marra. A farmer was abducted in Central Darfur.

Two other people went missing after approximately 20 armed men on camels attacked the group of people in Abujabra, 20 km north of Gireida. The attackers opened fire on the group and immediately killed Mohamed Adam.

The bullets also injured Abdallah Fadul Mohamed, Ali Hassan, Imam Mohamed Daoud and Ibrahim Adam Eid, all of whom have been taken to the hospital. The children Ahmed Adam Mohamed Musa (13 years) and Mohamed Yagoub went missing following the attack.

A source in the area told Radio Dabanga yesterday that the whereabouts of the boys are unknown. The wounded Fadul Mohamed and Hassan were taken in a critical condition to Nyala Hospital.

The source said that the group consisted of displaced people who attempted to return to the area of Abujabra. Reports continue to reach this station about attacks on returnees in the conflict-plagued western Sudanese region.

Last February, the South Darfur government, the UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (Unamid), and UN agencies in Sudan announced they would set up a joint committee to facilitate the voluntary return of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the state.

In April, State Governor Adam El Faki announced his intention to dismantle Kalma camp for displaced people “within one or two weeks”.

Killing in Jebel Marra

Robbers shot dead a merchant at Rabkona area in eastern Jebel Marra, on Wednesday evening.

One of the relatives of the killed Abubakr Abdelrahman told Radio Dabanga that three gunmen on camels attacked him in his house in Rabkona. They opened the fire and killed him immediately, and then took his possessions and fled.

Abduction in Central Darfur

In Nierteti in Central Darfur, unidentified gunmen have abducted the farmer Awadallah Ahmed Mohamed Musa and have taken him to an unknown destination.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that armed men, driving a Land Cruiser, attacked the farmer while he was tilling his farm in Saga. Awadallah was taken into the vehicle by force of arms and they drove off to an unknown destination.

The Kenyan military was speaking in meeting for the Security Council with the forces commanders of all the United Nations peacekeeping missions across the world to discuss the challenges they face during the implementation of their mandates.

Ngondi told the meeting that the mandate of Darfur peacekeeping mission was ” fairly robust” and the Mission has all the relevant components to implement it.

The four pillars of its mandate “were simple, understandable and implementable, so long as there were political will and commitment among all parties to the conflict,” he said according to the UN news centre.

“The Government of Sudan could be persuaded to adhere to the Status of Forces Agreement and allow UNAMID freedom of movement, including unhindered flights in its area of operations,” he further said.

Also, he proposed that the transition strategy to be included in the UNAMID mandate when its mandate is renewed next June.

The UN Security Council has reduced over 40% of the Mission’s troops and more can be considered in the next months as a result of the relative security the government forces have established in the region.

Sudan Tribune

SLM-AW says repulsed government attack in Jebel Marra

May 12, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur said it has defeated the Sudanese army in clashes on several areas of Jebel Marra on Friday. In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Saturday, SLM-AW military spokesperson Walid Mohamed Abakar (aka Tongo) said government forces attempted to attack their positions in a number of areas in west Jebel Marra including Tori, Gundi Too, Tortora and Tuli as well as Kara area in the southern part of Jebel Marra.

He pointed out that the SLM-AW fighters “managed to defeat the government army and inflicted on them heavy losses in lives and equipment”, saying the government forces “fled the battlefield leaving behind their dead, prisoners and equipment”. According to the statement, a number of government officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers were killed in the clashes in Kara area including a colonel who was commanding the force and a lieutenant named Mansur.

It added seven of the government troops were captured including a sergeant named Bashir Ahmed Radi, saying one of the Movement’s fighters was killed and three injured during the clashes. The SLM-AW said its fighters also seized 4 troop carrier vehicles and 12 boxes of RPG-7 projectiles besides large quantities of munitions and small and medium weapons. The Sudanese Armed Forces spokesperson was not reachable for comment. In a report covering the security situation in Darfur for the period from 16 February to 15 April 2018, the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reported low-scale skirmishes in Jebel Marra area between the government forces and the SLM-AW fighters.

In a memorandum to the National Commission for Human Rights and Unamid this week, the Youth Initiative Against Displacement and Resettlement in Darfur has condemned the latest government campaign which as seen thousands of people displaced in Darfur’s Jebel Marra this month.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the fighting in the southern part of the Jebel Marra mountains has pushed “thousands of civilians to flee to Kara, Kabu, Kor, Saboun El Fagur, Girlanjabang, Waglem, Karoo, Werangla and Daruna”.

Memorandum

In a memorandum to the National Commission for Human Rights and Unamid this week, the Youth Initiative Against Displacement and Resettlement in Darfur said that government-backed militias have launched a new campaign of targeting civilians in eastern and southern Jebel Marra this month, burning 10 villages in north of Rokoro. The 10,000 to 15,000 inhabitants took refuge in the mountains and valleys, are now homeless and lacking the necessary means of life.

OCHA

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at least 2,280 newly displaced households (about 11,500 people) arrived in Rokoro town and nearby Jemeiza village after 18 April.

The Youth Initiative memo also highlights that government forces carried out a campaign against 23 villages of southern Jebel Marra in Kass locality on May 11. According to the memo, the campaign led to the flight of 30,000 to 35,000 people from the villages to the mountains or the open.

The memorandum expressed condemnation and total rejection of the behaviour of the Sudanese government, the continuation of the policy of scorched earth, the targeting of civilians in eastern and southern Jebel Marra and in Darfur in general, the displacement of unarmed civilians from their villages and looting their money and targeting them individually and collectively and the rape of women and girls.

Large-scale demographic change

The memorandum pointed to the government’s implementation of a large-scale demographic change in Central and West Darfur through the displacement of the indigenous population and bringing of other groups to their lands. The memorandum identified the names of the settlements and the demographic changes pointing to 39 settlement areas in Kereinik, 17 in El Geneina and 13 in Habila.

It said that the actual plan of displacement and resettlement began since the outbreak of the war on the civilian population in Darfur and stressed that the process of demographic change continues as the war continues on the population in Darfur using the policy of scorched earth.

The memorandum confirmed that government authorities had already begun to bring families from neighbouring countries and settle them in the lands and villages of the displaced people, in the first three months of this year, because of the ongoing attacks by the government and its militias.

It said that that the local authorities in West Darfur granted these groups housing plans under the supervision of the governor of West Darfur and some of the state government’s collaborators.

It added that the authorities have given the settlers in the lands of the displaced the right to exploit the land and agricultural land and attack of the owners of the land in the event of objection

The youth’s initiative called on the National Human Rights Commission to immediately intervene to stop the displacement of unarmed civilians in Darfur and to strive urgently for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the displaced.

The memorandum called on Unamid to submit an urgent request to the UN Security Council in accordance with your terms of reference in accordance with the resolution mandate of the establishment of the mission to discuss the matter at the meetings of the Security Council.

It stressed that these acts constitute a blatant violation of the inherent human rights of the dignified life and personal safety, especially the international conventions signed and ratified by the Republic of Sudan.

Youth initiative

In Khartoum, Darfuri students at universities at El Nilein University launched a youth initiative to combat displacement and resettlement in Darfur by addressing students at university buildings.

The students condemned the recent brutal attacks carried out by the government militias on the villages of east and south Jebel Marra, calling them criminal and demanding that they be stopped immediately.

One of the student leaders of the initiative appealed via Radio Dabanga to humanitarian organisations to move immediately to provide relief assistance to those fleeing from the burned villages and provide them with security.

He condemned the government’s programme of forcible return of displaced people and the dismantling of camps as a new genocide in Darfur.

He said the government wants to return the displaced people to their villages without meeting the requirements of voluntary repatriation, which is to provide security, disarm militias, bring the perpetrators to justice, as well as providing basic services in return villages and compensate the displaced people.

Military offensive

In the past years, government forces have made various attempts to eliminate SLM-AW bases in the Jebel Marra region during the dry seasons (roughly between January and May). In 2016, more than 80,000 people were displaced by a major military offensive against the holdout rebels in the area.

This year in March, government forces, consisting mainly of Rapid Support Forces, attacked rebel sites in East Jebel Marra. In April, areas in north-western Jebel Marra were targeted. At least 13 villages burned to the ground. Tens of thousands of people fled their homes.

Sudan Tribune

UNAMID chief expresses concern over Jebel Marra clashes

May 20, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) chief, Jeremiah Mamabolo, has called on the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur to stop the fighting in Jebel Marra. On Sunday, Mamabolo concluded a two-day visit to oversee progress on the establishment of UNAMID’s temporary operating base in Golo, Jebel Marra.

Fighters of the SLM-AW, which does not commit itself to a cessation of hostilities, since last March have clashed with the government forces in several positions of the mountainous area. In a statement released last week, the rebel group said they clashed with the government forces in several positions in Jebel Marra area which spans over North, Central and South Darfur states. Also, the UN secretary general in a recent report to the Security Council spoke about “low intensity” of clashes in Jebel Marra.

The UN report mentioned some displacement in Jebel Marra following the clashes but it was not able to provide an estimation of the number of civilians affected by the fighting. On 13 May, a Sudanese official told Sudan Tribune that more than 1500 troops including militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been deployed in Kass locality of South Darfur in order to attack the SLM-AW positions in Jebel Marra.

The sources said additional sources have been massed in Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur to take part in the military operations

Sudan Tribune

Sudan defense ministry admits clashes in C. Darfur

May 21, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Ministry of Defense Monday acknowledged the outbreak of fighting in Jebel Marra in Darfur with “sleeper cells” of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) for the first time since the beginning of clashes last March. “The recent skirmishes of the security forces (in Jebel Marra) were with the sleeper cells of Abdel Wahid al-Nur and the mercenaries who rob the shepherds,” said the Minister of State for Defence Ali Mohamed Salim in a closed-door briefing in the parliament according to MP Siham Hassan Hasballa who was speaking to reporters on Monday.

Hasballa further said that the minister of state told them that 67 people have been killed or wounded as a result of the fighting including 51 civilians. The head of Darfur hybrid peacekeeping mission Jeremiah Mamabolo Sunday said concerned by the recent fighting in central Darfur between the government and SLM-AW and urged both sides to “exercise restraint and consider the impact of renewed fighting on vulnerable civilians”. On his part, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on defence and security al-Hadi Adam reiterated the commitment of the Sudanese armed forces to the cease-fire declared by President Omer al-Bashir adding it has the right to fight in self-defence if attacked. “(Rebel) dormant cells are hidden among civilians, and they are dangerous because they are waiting for events to exploit them.” Also, he revealed that the security services are working to control dormant cells and bring them to trial.

Sudan Tribune

One displaced woman killed by Sudanese militia in C. Darfur camp
May 21, 2018 (ZALINGEI) – One woman was killed and two others injured by the government militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at Khams Dagaig camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Central Darfur State capital, Zalingei on Monday. Member of the IDPs and Refugees Association Idris Salih told Sudan Tribune that 5 four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser vehicles carrying RSF fighters attempted to enter the camp but the IDPs prevented them. He added the RSF fighters opened fire at the IDPs killing a woman named Magbula Hassab al-Nabi and injuring two others, saying the perpetrators then headed towards Zalingei. Salih called on Central Darfur authorities to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice, saying the IDPs marched towards the headquarters of the government in downtown Zalingei to protest against the attack. He warned that the situation is still tense in Zalingei.

The Sudanese army recently deployed more troops to the Central Darfur state in a bid to crush the Sudan Liberation Movement -Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) fighters who clashed several times with the government forces in the mountainous area of Jebel Marra. Meanwhile, the commissioner of Zalingei locality and head of the security committee Khalid Bilal Ahmed said RSF fighters on 6 vehicles coming from South Darfur and heading to El-Geniena, capital of West Darfur State lost their way and entered the Khams Dagaig camp.

In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, Ahmed further said the IDPs intercepted the vehicles which prompted some RSF elements to open fire on them.

He pointed out that an IDP woman named Magbula Hassab al-Nabi sustained serious injuries and has been rushed to El-Geniena Hospital and would be transferred to the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

The official said the acting governor of Central Darfur has contacted the RSF command who issued immediate orders to arrest the force members and form a committee to probe the culprits.

The statement added some of the spoilers sought to take advantage of the incident to wreak havoc in Zalingei leading to a confrontation between the police and the residents, admitting that 9 civilians and 5 residents have been injured in the clashes.

The RSF militia, which integrated the notorious janjaweed militiamen accused of war crimes in Darfur, was mobilised by the Sudanese government to in August 2013 quell the Sudan Revolutionary Front forces after attacks in North and South Kordofan states in April 2013.

Darfur armed groups have condemned the attack on the IDPs camp. Also, all of them said the displaced woman, Magbula, was killed.

Militia shooting in Central Darfur camp leaves one dead

May 22 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Sudanese militiamen killed a displaced woman and wounded ten other people near a camp in Zalingei, Central Darfur, on Monday.

The coordinator of the Central Darfur camps, El Shafee Abdallah, informed Radio Dabanga about the incident in Khamsa Degaig camp. “A force of the paramility Rapid Support Forces stormed the camp at 9am. They were driving vehicles with Dushka machine guns mounted on the top.”

The attackers opened fire into the air. The hail of bullets instantly killed 22-year-old Magboula Hasabelnabi and wounded her child of 17 months old, Anas Adam, the camp coordinator reported. The mother’s body has been brought to the hospital.

Her death has led to demonstrations in the camp. “Demonstrators faced a police and security force, which led to the eruption of another demonstration in Zalingei,” Abdallah said.

Zalingei protest

“The demonstrators went to the secretariat of the government of Central Darfur state in protest against what happened. Again, the protesters faced live ammunition by the police.”

The protest in Zalingei (RD)Crowds in front of Zalingei hospital the same day (RD)

Abdallah further reported that members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exchanged fire with the military police in the area following the events. Three military troops sustained injury and transferred to the military hospital, he said.

“The RSF members lost their way in Khamsa Degaig camp.” – Zalingei commissioner

Zalingei locality commissioner Khalid Bilal Ahmed reported another account of what took place in the camp. The clash took place over friction between camp residents and RSF members who were on their way to El Geneina aboard six vehicles. They “lost their way” in the camp, the commissioner said in a press statement.

Camp residents did not welcome the paramilitary force which prompted some of the visitors to open fire into the air, Khalid Bilal said. His account of the event continues with the protest in front of the state government’s secretariat.

The commissioner said that clashes between residents and military troops caused the injury of five troops and nine protesting residents of Khamsa Degaig. Three of them have been transferred to El Geneina hospital; the remaining were taken to Zalingei hospital.

Khalid Bilal announced the formation of a committee to investigate events and prevent similar incidents.

Condemnation

The Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association has condemned the storming of Khamsa Degaig camp, causing death of Hasabelnabi. Spokesman Hussein Abusharati told Radio Dabanga that his association holds the RSF members responsible for the incidents.

“The perpetrators should be immediately prosecuted while retaining the relatives’ right to retribution. The wounded have to be treated and compensated as well.”

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) also condemned the “brutal aggression by the regime’s militia on the displaced in the camp”.

Yesterday the DBA issued a statement following the attack. The lawyers called on the international community, the United Nations in particular, to force the Sudanese government to respect the rights of displaced people according to the provisions of the Sudanese constitution and law.

Darfur civilians flee as more bombs fall on Jebel Marra

May 23 – 2018 JEBEL MARRA

The Sudanese Air Force bombed areas in Jebel Marra yesterday, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

Waleed Abakar, the movement’s military spokesman, told Radio Dabanga that on Tuesday the Sudanese Air Force dropped bombs at areas of Turung Tawra and Tugut Turti in southern Jebel Marra.

He said the aerial bombardment caused great losses and forced residents to flee to the valleys and mountain foothills.

He confirmed that on Monday army and militia forces stationed in the area of Kara in East Jebel Marra bombed the areas of Gorolang Banje, Sara, and Sabun El Fagur, which led to the flight of civilians to caves and mountain tops.

On Sunday, the Sudanese Defence Minister appeared before the Parliament in Khartoum following the urgent issue of violence in Jebel Marra and the shooting of civilians.

Questions in Parliament

MP Siham Hasan said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the minister responded to the questions raised by the MPs and provided a lot of explanation and information about what happened and is happening in Jebel Marra.

She added that the minister held the state security committee responsible for the events that took place and promised to work for the programme of extending security, resolving the tribal conflicts and continue to implement the plan to collect weapons.

Hasan explained that she believes that the process of collecting weapons is not enough which itself contributes to the violations against civilians and have a significant impact in increasing skirmishes and friction between different components.

Aisha Ibrahim (45) lost her hand and Ibrahim Eisa (12) was wounded by a bomb fired from the sites of government forces stationed at Kara area in East Jebel Marra on Monday.

A relative of Ibrahim told Radio Dabanga that on Monday evening the incidents took place after an army force backed by the Rapid Support Forces stationed at Kara area, fired heavy weapons north of Kalokitting area for 15 minutes.

They said that one of those shells fell on a group of civilians fleeing from Kara in one of the valleys.

Unamid reported in a press briefing that Mamabolo travelled by road to Golo in the centre of the Jebel Marra last week, to oversee progress on the establishment of the Mission’s temporary operating base in the area.

Sudan Tribune

More 3 IDPs killed in Central Darfur: rebels
May 23, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed three displaced people in Ardiba camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Garcila area of Central Darfur state, said two armed groups in Jebel Marra on Wednesday. This attack on IDPs is the second of its kind in the Central Darfur state, after the killing of a displaced woman residing in a camp in Zalingei on Monday.

Two rebel groups, Sudan Liberation Movement -Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) and SLM-Transitional Council said the government militiamen opened fire on two civilians at Abuja market in Ardiba camp of Garcila, because they tried to prevent them from looting their belongings. On Wednesday, the assailants backed by the security forces attacked the mourners at the cemetery and killed female and injured several others, the statements said. In a separate statement, the IDPs association in Central Darfur IDPs condemned the attack and called on the hybrid peacekeeping operation to protect civilians in line with its mandate.

Darfur: Fierce clashes between RSF and SLM-AW in Jebel Marra

May 24 – 2018 KOBO

Fierce battles raged yesterday between government forces including the main Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and the Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) at Kobo area in southern Jebel Marra.

Waleed Abakar, the military spokesman for the SLM-AW told Radio Dabanga from the field that the movement’s forces managed to counter the attack by the government forces and militia. Abakar said the counter attack led to the withdrawal of the RSF, leaving their dead and weapons behind.

Unamid reported in a press briefing that Mamabolo travelled by road to Golo in the centre of the Jebel Marra last week, to oversee progress on the establishment of the Mission’s temporary operating base in the area.

Militia attack Central Darfur camp: Three displaced dead, 12 injured

May 24 – 2018 GARSILA

Three displaced people were killed and 12 more injured in two attacks, allegedly by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen on Aradeiba camp in Garsila in Central Darfur. On Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, three displaced people were killed and 12 others were wounded in two attacks by the militias.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps told Radio Dabanga that a group of RSF stationed at the eastern gate of Garsila launched an attack on Abuja market at the Aradeiba camp and fired live ammunition at the displaced people on Tuesday and Wednesday.

He explained that the attack resulted in killing Mousa Daoud (27) Zakariya Yongour (29), and Maryam Abdelrahim (35), and wounded 12 others. He reported that the RSF continued to fire and besiege the camp throughout Wednesday.

Hussein Abusharati, the spokesman for the Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association, described the attack on Aradeiba and Khamsa Dagayeg camps as an indication to the government’s lack of seriousness in the disarmament campaign.

He called on the international community and Unamid to provide protection to the displaced.

He condemned the silence of the international community to what is happening in the camps in Darfur.

He called on the United Nations to immediately act to stop what is happening in the displaced camps.

In addition, he called on the United Nations and the European Union to intervene and investigate the attack on Aradeiba and Khamsa Dagayeg camps.

Sudan Tribune

Sudan military, rebels clash in Jebel Marra: statement
May 24, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan Liberation Movement -Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) said they repelled a fresh government attack on their positions in the southern part of Jebel Marra area in Central Darfur state. In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the SLM-AW said the fighting, which took place in Kara Gobo area, lasted for 18 hours on Wednesday and resumed on Thursday for six hours.

The rebel group said they killed 37 government forces, adding that 82 Land Curser vehicles, an Antonov bombardier and a military chopper took part in the fighting from the government side. In a related development, the newly appointed Central Darfur Governor Mohamed Ahmed Gad Elsid vowed to hunt the rebel fighters from their hideouts in the caves of the mountainous Jebel Marra area.

Speaking in a public rally in the state capital Zaligei, Gad Elsid called on the armed groups to join the peace process saying the government extends its hands to the rebel fighters to end the fighting and build the war-affected areas.

Higher toll of wounded in Central Darfur camp attack

May 25 – 2018 GARSILA

New information about the deadly attacks in Aradeiba camp in Central Darfur claims that the people killed in the camp in the past days had been shot in the presence of police and security forces.

One of the camp sheikhs in Aradeiba in Wadi Saleh locality said that among the attackers on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning was an officer of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), named Shabur.

The sheikh claimed that the attack took place on a group of mourning people while members of the police and security service were present at the scene. Three people were killed and the sheikh reported that seventeen people sustained injuries.

Yesterday’s witness reports stated that three displaced people were killed and 12 others were injured by a group of RSF members. The paramilitaries were stationed in the vicinity of Aradeiba.

The African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (Unamid) released a statement yesterday that the peacekeeping mission will increase the number and frequency of patrols in and around the Central Darfur camps that witnessed violent incidents this week, as well as dispatch integrated teams to verify these incidents.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga on yesterday, the Garsila camps’ sheikh added that the arrival of Unamid troops in Aradeiba helped breaking the militiamen’s siege on the camp and forced them to retreat on Wednesday evening.

“A day after the attacks, a cautious calm has returned to Aradeiba camp,” he said.

Khamsa Degaig camp

Aradeiba camp for displaced people is north of Garsila town in Wadi Saleh locality. It is close to Zalingei locality, where the Khamsa Dagayig camp witnessed a separate deadly attack by militiamen on Monday.

RSF members entered Khamsa Dagayig that morning and opened fire into the air, deadly wounding a woman in the camp.

Zalingei locality commissioner Khalid Bilal Ahmed reported another account of what took place in the camp. The clash took place over friction between camp residents and RSF members who were on their way to El Geneina aboard six vehicles. They “lost their way” in the camp, the commissioner said in a press statement.

The RSF is the country’s main paramilitary force – and was integrated into the Sudanese army. It is under direct command of President Omar Al Bashir. Starting 2014, the counterinsurgency force has a track record in fighting the armed movements in South Kordofan, but also conducted raids in dozens of villages in Darfur, and patrols Sudanese borders to intercept illegal migrants.

International organisations including the Enough Project and Human Rights Watch have accused the RSF of carrying out criminal activities against civilians while enjoying impunity.

Condemnation

The National Liberation and Justice Party led by Dr Tijani Sese strongly condemned the attacks on the camps in Central Darfur. In a statement issued by spokesman Ahmed Fadul, the party called on state and local authorities to file criminal reports against the perpetrators.

Fadul said that the attack on Aradeiba camp “exposed the process of the collection of illegal weapons […] this along with the intentional inaction of the state government”.

Also on Thursday, the Darfur Bar Association (DBA) called in a statement on Unamid to execute its international mandate to investigate the repeated attacks by pro-government militias on the camps in Darfur.

The lawyers of the DBA also called on victims of the incidents to file criminal charges against the perpetrators.

Ongoing clashes between RSF, rebels in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

May 25 – 2018 KOBO

The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) claimed to have killed 14 Sudanese paramilitary troops when they repelled two attacks in Darfur’s Jebel Marra.

The attacks on Thursday resulted in the death of 14 members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and wounding 28 others, the armed movement claimed. Waleed Mohamed Abakar, the military spokesman told Radio Dabanga that the RSF attack took place in the area of Kobo in southern Jebel Marra. “We fought back and forced the troops to retreat to Kara and Kass.”

He added that the rebels also repelled an attack in Turti and Nugud in western Jebel Marra.

Three civilians were reportedly wounded as the pro-government troops shelled Saboun El Fagur on Thursday. Fighting then continued in the areas of Saboun El Fagur, Kobo, Kuru, Jarku and Kor in Jebel Marra.

Responding to the renewed clashes, the Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association reported that a large number of residents in Jebel Marra villages have been affected by the clashes and fled their homes.

Spokesman Hussein Abushrati told Radio Dabanga that a large number of residents has been displaced by the recent fighting. “The association calls upon Unamid to go to Jebel Marra and investigate the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, and the lack of basic commodities – for which the government is responsible.”

On Saturday the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur (Unamid) Joint Special Representative (JSR) Jeremiah Mamabolo expressed his concerns about the recent clashes between Sudanese government forces and SLM-AW fighters in Jebel Marra.

“We particularly regret the new displacements and the burning of villages such as Gobbo, Kawara, Kimingtong in South Darfur as well as other villages in the Rokoro locality in Central Darfur,” he added in his briefing to the press.

Military offensive

This year in March, government forces, consisting mainly of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, attacked rebel sites in East Jebel Marra in South Darfur. In April, areas in north-western Jebel Marra were targeted. At least 13 villagesburned to the ground. Tens of thousands of people reportedly fled their homes. The US Department of State expressed its serious concerns about the renewed violence. This month, again thousands of villagers were newly displaced by fighting in the southern part of Jebel Marra in Kass in South Darfur.

According to the UN and partners, 82,000 people were newly displaced across Darfur during the first seven months of 2016, when a similar military offensive against the holdout rebels in the mountainous region shook its grounds. Up to an additional 117,000 people were also reportedly displaced, but the UN and partners were unable to verify these figures owing to a lack of access to the relevant locations.

Darfur woman loses legs in Jebel Marra blast

May 27 – 2018 JEBEL MARRA

A woman lost both legs on Friday after government forces shelled Sabun El Fagur in Jebel Marra with heavy artillery.

Relatives of Halima Khalil (35), told Radio Dabanga that a shell fired from the government militia base Kara area in southern Jebel Marra, exploded near a well where Khalil was drawing water. Khalil lost both her legs, and the blast also killed her donkey.

They said the government forces and militia stationed at Kara area fired heavy artillery on Sabun El Fagur, 30 kilometres north of Kass on Friday morning.

Unamid reported in a press briefing last week that Mamabolo travelled by road to Golo in the centre of the Jebel Marra last week, to oversee progress on the establishment of the Mission’s temporary operating base in the area.

On arrival, Unamid personnel working on the ground briefed him on the security situation and the challenges faced, including rough terrain, the upcoming rainy season and recent clashes between Sudanese government forces and combatants of the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) elements in the greater Jebel Marra area.

Darfur mother, child die in Jebel Marra shell blast

June 3 – 2018 GOBU

A woman and her young son were killed on Thursday night, reportedly while fleeing shell fire from government forces on Darfur’s Jebel Marra.

One of the relatives of the deceased mother and child told Radio Dabanga that Um El Kheir Younes (37) and her son Adam Yahya (5) were killed by a shell fired by the government forces stationed at the Gobu area, 30 kilometres north of Kass in southern Jebel Marra.

The relative said that the government forces that entered the Gobu area and are stationed there fired heavy artillery shells north of the area on Thursday night. One of the shells fell among people who were fleeing the area. Younes and her son were killed instantly.

On May 25, a woman lost both legs after government forces shelled Sabun El Fagur in Jebel Marra with heavy artillery.

Unamid

As reported previously by Radio Dabanga in mid-May, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur (Unamid) Joint Special Representative (JSR) Jeremiah Mamabolo expressed his concerns about the situation in Jebel Marra after a two-day visit to the area.

Unamid reported in a press briefing that Mamabolo travelled by road to Golo in the centre of the Jebel Marra to oversee progress on the establishment of the Mission’s temporary operating base in the area.

*Sudan’s estimated military strength in 2018

Parliament hearing on Central Darfur camp attack: “Situation stable”

June 8 – 2018 KHARTOUM

Sudan’s Minister of Interior informed the parliament about the “stable” security situation in Khamsa Dagayig camp in Central Darfur, where a woman was deadly shot by paramilitary gunmen on May 21.

Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud spoke in the National Parliament in response to an urgent question about the events in the camp, on Thursday. Members of Parliament Siham Hasan of the Liberation and Justice Party and Mohamed Idris of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Second Revolution had posed the question about the camp for displaced people in Zalingei locality nearly less than month ago.

Khamsa Dagayig is one of the largest camps in Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur. It is close to the camps El Hamidiya and Hasahisa. According to the minister, people in these camps have “unwillingly faced the presence of government forces and in particular, police forces.”

Minister Mahmoud said that the three camps have become a refuge for outlaws and criminals. “The displaced people have been affected by this situation because the criminals who commit crimes are not being subjected to the hands of justice.”

In addition, Khamsa Dagayig “lacks urban planning that would ease movement within the camp”.

Minister Mahmoud: “People threw rocks at the paramilitary members, leading them to fire shots into the air.”

Meanwhile Mahmoud gave an account of the incident that happened in the camp on May 21. A group of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), driving five vehicles, had lost their way and entered a road that lead to Khamsa Dagayig camp. A number of people started throwing stones at the force.

According to Mahmoud the RSF troops could not pull out and some of the members started firing shots into the air to disband the gathered people. The bullets hit a woman in the crowd. This subsequently sparked anger among camp residents, and a group of them marched to Zalingei town to protest the violence in front of the secretariat of the state government.

Police then intervened to disperse the demonstrators. Mahmoud said that six people and six policemen were wounded, along with damage to two police vehicles. The police had recorded only the death of the woman who died five days after being treated in Khartoum hospital.

Minister Mahmoud said that the state governor and the state security committee have formed a fact-finding mission under resolution 55-2018, headed by the deputy-high prosecutor.

“From initial testimony this committee could conclude that, after the interrogation of witnesses to the incident in the camp, and an inspection of the road where the RSF entered through, the RSF had gone down the road, entered the camp, where displaced people gathered to close the road and threw stones and logs at them.

“Some reported hearing gunfire to disperse the crowd.”

The minister reported that police were the first to arrive at the scene. “They were helping camp residents to return life in Khamsa Dagayig to normal, tried to contain the events and arresting rioters. […] The presence of troops within the camp is important to maintain security.”

He claimed: “The incident in the camp was sudden, as some had exploited the situation of the troop’s entry.”

Mahmoud added in his speech to parliament that his ministry fully supports the process to secure areas in Darfur for the voluntary return of displaced Darfuris.

Six civilians killed in ongoing Jebel Marra clashes

June 15 – 2018 TUR / GULDO

Clashes between Sudan’s army and militias and the rebel forces are ongoing in the southern and western parts of Jebel Marra in Darfur. Six civilians were killed. The fighting has led people to flee to the higher mountains and caves for security.

Waleed Mohamed Abakar, the spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW), said that the rebels managed to repel a new attack launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on its sites in west Jebel Marra.

He told Radio Dabanga yesterday that the RSF attacked rebel sites at Awatim in the west Jebel Marra, and claimed that the SLM-AW managed to repel them and force them to return to Tur.

Children killed

Sources in the area reported to this station that six civilians were killed and 12 others were wounded, including four children, during clashes between the Sudanese forces and the SLM of El Nur, in west and south Jebel Marra, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Maryam Suleiman Hamid, aged 32, and 13-year-old Abdelhafeez Ibrahim Yahya were killed when shelling by pro-government militias hit them near Sabun El Fagur in southern Jebel Marra. On Thursday, a witness told Radio Dabanga that seven civilians, including four children, were wounded.

In the villages of Fuju, in west Jebel Marra, two students of El Faki Atim Quran school were killed on Wednesday. Radio Dabanga could not yet verify their names and age. Five others were wounded by the shelling.

Sudanese soldiers have arrested villagers in Fuju in the past days. A listener told told Radio Dabanga that two students of the Quran school have been arrested on charges of supporting the rebels, and that they have been taken to Nierteti.

Two men were killed on Wednesday, when government forces shelled Berbera and Kuweila, east of Guldo. A number of villagers have fled to caves in the mountains for safety. Yousef Hamid Ali (58) and Kaltoum Mousa (48) did not survive when they attempted to flee Berbera.

End March and early April, government forces attacked the areas of Sawani, Rokona, and Libei in East Jebel Marra. The areas are the last strongholds of the SLM-AW.

More than 50,000 people fled the fighting and militia attacks on their villages. Activists told this station in mid-April that the newly displaced were living in the open or hiding in caves after their homes burned to the ground.

Three more Darfuris killed by shelling in Jebel Marra

June 17 – 2018 GOLOL

Shelling on villages in western Jebel Marra killed three people on Friday, the first day of the Eid El Fitr. Government forces severly beat-up three boys in the area of Golol on Thursday.

Three houses burned to the ground in indiscriminate artillery shelling by government forces towards the villages in the area of Fuju, nearby Golo in Rokoro locality (central Jebel Marra), a youth activist told Radio Dabanga.

Maryam Yousef and Dar Es Salaam Yagoub, and Abdallah Ibrahim were fatally hit by an exploding projectile, he reported.

Activists in Jebel Marra have appealed to the government to stop the shelling of villages in the region.

Last week, six people were killed and many others wounded by shelling in western and southern Jebel Marra. At least two villages burned to ashes. Earlier this month, a woman and her 5-years-old son were killed by a shell in Kass. On May 25, a woman lost her legs after government forces shelled Sabun El Fagur in southern Jebel Marra with heavy artillery.

In early March, the Sudanese army and allied militias began to attack various areas in the mountainous Jebel Marra region, in an attempt to eliminate the last strongholds of the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW).

Since this time, at least 50,000 people fled the fighting and militia attacks on their villages.

Beaten

A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured by severe beating by government forces stationed in the area of Golol in Central Darfur’s Nierteti locality (south-west Jebel Marra) on Thursday.

An eye-witness told this station that he and two of his friends were held on the road leading to the market of Tur, where they intended to sell their lemons.

“The militiamen took them to their headquarters in the area. The boys were held there for hours, and were severely beaten.

“They were then released. Abubaker Ishag suffered a serious head wound,” he said. “They did not get their donkeys and lemons back.”

Sudan Tribune

UNAMID calls for humanitarian access to Darfur’s Jebel Marra

June 21, 2018 (EL FASHER) – The hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur, UNAMID, called for a cessation of hostilities in the eastern part of Jebel Marra mountainous area and unfettered humanitarian access to the affected civilians.

The Sudanese army is carrying out heavy a large-scale offensive on the Sudan Liberation Movement -Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) fighters who are accused of capturing several villages in the eastern Jebel Marra, South Darfur. In a statement released Thursday, the UNAMID said ” deeply concerned with the heavy fighting which is “characterized by the burning of villages”, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee the area. It pointed out that the Sudanese army denied the peacekeepers access to the area and called to stop the fighting and to authorize them to reach the affected civilian population which is tasked with their protection.

“The continued fighting is deplorable and should stop immediately, while unhindered access should be granted to enable humanitarian aid agencies to reach the affected population and provide the necessary assistance to those in need,” said UNAMID chief Jeremiah Mamabolo.

According to the UNAMID, some 900 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge at a school in Golo town. Golo is also hosting the new headquarters of the Mission which is expected to close definitively within two years.

Central Darfur camp leader murdered

June 22 – 2018 NIERTETI

A leader of one of the camps for displaced people in Nierteti, Central Darfur, was shot dead by gunmen in his house on Tuesday.

Sheikh Jumaa Mohamed Yousef was one of the leaders of the northern Nierteti camp and responsible for the camp residents in Block 6. He has spoken many times to Radio Dabanga about the issues of displaced people and voiced their needs to the outside world.

A source informed Radio Dabanga that three unidentified gunmen entered the sheikh’s house and shot him with five bullets on Tuesday night. Jumaa was killed in the spot, after which the perpetrators fled.

Displaced people in the camp said that the incident has been reported to the police station in Nierteti. Jumaa was buried in the town’s graves on Wednesday.

Weapons collection

In North Darfur’s Kabkabiya locality, a convoy of government forces has launched a campaign to collect weapons. On Wednesday Governor El Sharif Mohamed Abad Samouh instructed the forces “to deter all forms of insecurity and maintain security and stability in the region”.

He added that his current visit to the Kabkabiya and Kutum localities is aimed at identifying the progress of the weapons collection campaign, and reviewing the process of voluntary return of displaced people.

Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army began collecting illegal arms and unlicensed vehicles from civilians in the regions in 2017. The collection campaign has entered the stage of compulsory collection of weapons. In North Darfur alone, 12,500 RSF and police were deployed to assist with the arms collection and the controls of unregistered vehicles.

The clashes took place in Fundug Badiya, between Baldong and Golol, in Central Darfur’s Nierteti locality. A spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdelwahid El Nur claimed that the rebels managed to kill 45 members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A rebel fighter was killed.

Spokesman Waleed Mohamed Abakar added that they have seized various weapons and ammunition while one of the movement’s soldiers was killed.

“The militias burned the Owa Ateem Quran School at night and attacked civilians during their retreat from the area,” Abakar claimed.

Exactly one week ago the SLM-AW also reported having repelled a military attack on the rebels’ sites at Buli and Aja in northern Jebel Marra, and claimed that the RSF damaged several villages during their withdrawal.

Spokesmen of the RSF or Sudanese army often refrain from commenting on military operations, however, two weeks ago the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the SLM-AW of carrying out isolated provocative attacks in Jebel Marra in Darfur to force the armed forces to respond militarily.

Shelling during clashes between government and rebel forces caused the death of six people and many others wounded in western and southern Jebel Marra in mid-June.

Repeated militia assaults in Central Darfur’s Nierteti

July 16 – 2018 TURR

People living in the area of Turr in Central Darfur’s Nierteti locality are suffering from militia attacks for more than a week.

An activist reported to Radio Dabanga from Turr, that members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s main militia, began attacking the residents of the area about eights days ago.

The militia troops fought rebel combatants of the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur in various places in Jebel Marra since early March this year.

“The assaults began with the return of the RSF from the battles in Jebel Marra,” the source explained. “The militiamen raid houses, beat-up the inhabitants, and take away every that has some value.”

He added that though the residents have notified the police, the army garrison in the area, and the commissioner of Nierteti locality, the assaults are continuing.

(Report also in South and West Darfur)

Omda dies of wounds, farmer killed in Darfur

July 20 – 2018 NYALA / NIERTETI / EL GENEINA

The omda of Digris in Nyala locality has died of his wounds in the hospital on Wednesday. He and his wife were fatally shot in their house on Wednesday July 11.

Omda Jibril Ahmed Ali Muhajir succumbed to the wounds in his chest and thigh in Nyala hospital. Gunmen had attacked the couple a week before. Aisha Mohamed Adam was killed on the spot and Jibril Ahmed taken to hospital in a serious condition.

They had recently returned from Kalma camp for displaced people to their home area, as part of the government’s voluntary return programme.

Omda Jibril Ahmed Ali Muhajir of Digris village in Nyala hospital (RD

At least nine people have been killed since the start of the current agricultural season in Gireida in South Darfur, all of whom have been voluntary returnees to their villages this rainy season, this station reported in June.

Farmer killed

Militiamen shot dead a 45-year-old man north of Tur in Nierteti, Central Darfur, on Wednesday. The incident took place in Kalu, north of Tur.

Family members of Siddig Osman told radio Dabanga that he was on his way back from his farm to the camps in Tur when “members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces” shot him.

Disarmament

The government in West Darfur has announced “a comprehensive plan to collect illegally possessed weapons and prevent unlicensed vehicles”.

Deputy Governor Mohamed Sharafeldin confirmed that “no unlicensed vehicle will be allowed to move and roam within the state’s geographical boundaries” in El Geneina on Wednesday. He said that the compulsory disarmament campaign was the result of a number of owners who have not adhered to the call to voluntarily hand in their arms or unlicensed vehicles.

The state authorities raided Warah village for this reason on Wednesday, seizing weapons, ammunition, military uniforms and six four-wheel drive vehicles.

Repeated attacks on farmers in Mukjar, South Darfur

July 23 – 2018 MUKJAR

Since last week, militiamen are assaulting farmers in several parts of Central Darfur’s Mukjar locality.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a victim reported that the gunmen attacked him on Tuesday.

“They beat me with their whips, and stole my two donkeys near Kombo Sendu village,” he said. “They took four other donkeys from farmers in Keredu and Kombo Saraf Majin.”

He said that on Wednesday, the attackers subjected farmer Jamal Adam from Kombo Tende to heavy beating with whips and sticks before robbing him of his money and mobile telephone. “He had to be taken to Mukjar Hospital.”

The source called on Unamid and the local authorities “to act urgently, protect the farmers and persecute the perpetrators”.

He also urged the Central Darfur state government “to immediately resume the disarmament process so that the people can safely tend their farms in Mukjar”.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Pregnant woman slain in Central Darfur shooting

July 25 – 2018 MUKJAR

A 28-year-old mother of five, who was eight months pregnant, was shot dead by militiamen at Kombo Tindi area, east of Mukjar in Central Darfur on Monday.

A sheikh from camp Mukjar told Radio Dabanga that gunmen fired three bullets into the chest of Halima Abdelmahmoud. She died instantly.

He said the incident was reported to Mukjar police, who arrested a suspect named as Mohamed Dardeimo.

Abduction

On Tuesday morning, gunmen on camels abducted 27-year old farmer Habib Suleiman, and 22-year-old Maryam Khalid, from Dubo El Omda south of Katur in Tawila locality in North Darfur.

A farmer told Radio Dabanga that five armed men threatened the two farmers on their land, tied them and then took them to an unknown destination.

Sudan Tribune

900 new IDPs arrive in Central Darfur’s Golo in July
July 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The central Darfur authorities and local leaders of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are discussing the relocation of 900 people who fled their homes in East Jebel Marra locality. The Sudanese government forces sporadically clash with the fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid (SLM/AW) in different areas in Jebel Marra, as a result, hundreds of villagers continue to move in the mountainous area fleeing their homes.

In its bimonthly bulletin, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that about 900 IDPs arrived in early July to Golo where the peacekeeping mission is establishing its headquarters.

The state authorities hosted them in the Golo primary school, but it is overcrowded and without sanitation facilities. Also, the school is expected to open in October. “Finding alternative accommodation for the IDPs is of the utmost importance,” OCHA said adding that Local authorities and IDP leaders are currently negotiating their relocation to another area. The UN peacekeepers truck water to the school. Also, the latrines at the school are insufficient but the problem of hygiene cannot be resolved quickly because the construction of new latrines is pending the relocation of the IDPs. “If this is not addressed soon, sanitation will further deteriorate, potentially increasing the likelihood of disease outbreaks given the start of the rainy season,” said the humanitarian bulletin.

ACUTE MALNUTRITION

Among the new IDPs, seven cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 20 cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) were reported as of 11 July. All the cases were referred to treatment in Golo hospital.

“However, the hospital has reported a gap in ready-to-use-supplementary foods (RUSD) due to a disruption in the supply pipeline last month,” said OCHA. For its part, the WFP distributed one-month food rations for the displaced persons.

Central Darfuri killed for mobile telephone

August 3 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Armed robbers shot a resident of El Hamidiya camp of Zalingei in Central Darfur on Tuesday. A day later, he succumbed to this wounds.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of the Central Darfur camps, told Radio Dabanga that two gunmen intercepted Ibrahim Ahmed Bakheet near the camp on Tuesday by force of arms.

“They told Bakheet to hand his mobile telephone. When he resisted, they shot him,” Abdallah said. “He was taken to Zalingei Hospital. There the medics advised his transfer to the better equipped Hospital of El Geneina, but he died on the road on Wednesday.”

Couple killed in attack on Central Darfur village

August 6 – 2018 ZALINGEI

A displaced man and his wife were shot dead by gunmen in a village near the Central Darfur capital of Zalingei this weekend.

El Shafee Abdallah, coordinator of the Central Darfur displacement camps, told Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen stormed Kombo Dei, 4 km west of Zalingei, on Saturday night.

“They shot around them. Adam Abdelkarim and his wife Khadeeja Ahmed were fatally hit. Their daughter Maryam was wounded,” he said.

“After they robbed the villagers of their belongings and their donkey carts, they set fire to the houses.”

Abdallah explained that Kombo Dei is home to a number of displaced people from neighbouring Hasahisa camp, who returned to the village to cultivate their farms.

He said the incident was reported to the police of Zalingei.

Similar attacks occurred in villages in North and South Darfur in late July.

Sudan Tribune

Two farmers killed at voluntary return village in Central Darfur
August 6, 2018 (ZALINGEI) – Two farmers have been killed and one seriously injured on Sunday in an attack by unknown gunmen against Kambo Di village for voluntary return, 5 kilometres west of Zalingei the capital of Central Darfur State. In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, IDPs and Refugees Committee in Central Darfur said 6 gunmen at 2:00 am (local time) on Sunday opened fire at Kambo Di residents killing two and injuring one.

It pointed out that the dead persons are identified as Khadiga Adam Salih and Adam Ibrahim Abdel-Karim while Mariam Adam has sustained serious injuries. An official source told Sudan Tribune the security organs have immediately deployed troops to the incident scene, saying, 5 suspects, have been captured and transferred to Zalingei prison to conduct criminal proceedings.

Meanwhile, hundreds of IDPs have attended the funeral at Hasahesa camp graveyard amid widespread condemnation of the incident. Several villages of voluntary return have been attacked by gunmen who refuse to allow farmers return to their original areas and use their farmland.

Sudan Tribune

Sudanese authorities obstruct UNAMID access to East Jebel Marra: Mamabolo
August 28, 2018 (EL-FASHER) – UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR), Jeremiah Mamabolo, Tuesday called to ensure unfettered access for peacekeepers to the eastern part of Jebel Marra disclosing that the state authorities have prevented them 14 times from reaching the troubled area since July.

In line with the reconfiguration process of the hybrid peacekeeping mission before its eventual withdrawal in 2020, the UNAMID is tasked with the protection of civilian only in the greater Jebel Marra area.

Accordingly, the mission moved almost all its 4000 troops to its new Temporary Operating Base in Golo, Central Darfur and launched regular patrols to inspect the security situation and protect civilians due to the sporadic clashes between the army and a holdout rebel group in the mountainous area. In a statement released on Tuesday, the UNMAID chief, however, said he had to travel to Nyala to discuss “access challenges affecting the Mission’s operations in parts of East Jebel Marra” with the South Darfur Deputy Governor Taha Abdallah Hamid and the State Security Committee. Mamabolo reminded “Sudanese officials that UN Security Council Resolution 2429 (2018) obligates the Government of Sudan to facilitate access, thus enabling UNAMID to carry out its mandate of protecting civilians,” said a statement.

Out of 14 access denials have been reported by UNAMID patrol teams across Darfur since July 2018, seven were recorded in Menawashei, Mershing locality of South Darfur state, the statement revealed.

International officials who spoke to Sudan Tribune under the cover of anonymity, recently disclosed that the Sudanese army is waging an undeclared war against the fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW) who refuse to join the peace process or declare a unilateral ceasefire.

(Report also in North Darfur)

Gunmen attack three people in Darfur, two killed

August 31 – 2018 ZALINGEI / KHAZAN TUNJUR

Two men were shot dead by unknown gunmen on the way to their camp for displaced people in Zalingei, Central Darfur on Wednesday. A woman was shot on her farm in North Darfur on Thursday.

Abakar Omar Abakar and Isameldin Haroun lived in Hasahisa camp, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps told Radio Dabanga. Coordinator El Shafi Abdallah reported that gunmen opened fire on the men while they were on their way from Zalingei to Hasahisa, and killed them instantly.

In Khazan Tunjur in North Darfur, an armed man opened fire on Hawa Yacoub Suleiman while she was tilling her farm. A witness reported that the armed man was a herder.

The gunshot seriously wounded Hawa and she has been transferred to the military garrison in the area for treatment.

Earlier this month a woman farmer was killed and four other farmers were injured in an attack by armed herders on farms south of Tabit.

Tensions over land and pastures have often caused clashes between farmers in the region of Jebel Marra and militant herders who want to use their farms as pasture. Displaced returning to their area of origin complain about new settlers who occupy their villages.

(Report also in North and South Darfur)

Darfur: Farmers attacked, displaced men arrested

September 21 – 2018 DAR EL SALAM / NIERTETI / NYALA

Two farmers were attacked in North Darfur on Wednesday. In Central Darfur, three camp residents were arrested on Monday.

Farmers Adam Mahmoud Ibrahim and Um Kalthoum Yahya Omar were farming in Arashu, in Dar El Salam locality, when gunmen trespassed the farms. One of their relatives said that the four gunmen were herders.

“The herders let their cattle and camels graze on the farms. When the farmers objected, they beat them with sticks and caused them injuries.”

The victims have been taken to Shangil Tobaya for treatment.

On Monday, members of the military intelligence arrested three displaced people from Tur camp in Nierteti locality in Central Darfur, and took them to an unknown destination.

Eye-witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the military intelligence stormed the house of Yahya Abulgasim, Abdelrazig Abdelrahman and Muzamil Osman and took them to an unknown destination in their vehicle.

Relatives of the three detainees inquired about their family members at the military garrison of Tur, as well as the station of the Central Reserve Forces. “They denied that the detainees were being held there.”

Kalma camp

On Thursday, members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly stormed Kalma camp in Nyala locality, which sparked panic among the displaced. They drove into the camp with a vehicle.

The spokesman for Association of Displaced People and Refugees in Darfur, Hussein Abu Sharati, said that the incident coincided with a meeting on the commemoration of martyrs of deadly events in Kalma.

A relative of the victim told Radio Dabanga that one of the herders opened fire while she was gathering firewood with three other girls at Kebe area north of Nierteti and seriously wounded her.

He added that she was taken to Nyala for treatment.

Woman stabbed to death after rape attempt in Central Darfur

September 25 – 2018 DELEIG / TUR

A woman has been killed following an attempt to rape her in Deleig, Central Darfur, on Monday. Two people were wounded by gunshots in Tur.

Two gunmen stabbed 25-year-old Arafa Abdelshakur Abdallah to death at Kankoli area, north of Deleig. One of the relatives of the deceased told Radio Dabanga that two men attacked Arafa and her mother Hawa Ibrahim while they went out to Kankoli.

The unknown assailants attempted to rape Arafa and her mother confronted the perpetrators, upon which one of the attackers stabbed Arafa with a knife and killed her instantly.

On Sunday, armed men opened fire and seriously wounded two people at Tur in Central Darfur. Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that the perpetrators rode on horses and wore military uniforms when they attacked a group of people on their way back to their villages after shopping in Tur.

Amin Eisa Khatir and Yassin Saleh Abdallah were seriously wounded and have been taken to Nyala for treatment. After the shooting the attackers robbed the travellers of their money, mobile phones and possessions.

Gunmen attack and rob displaced, farmer in Central Darfur

September 28 – 2018 TURR / JEBEL AWLIA

Drunk armed men opened fire and wounded people in Turr camp for displaced people in Central Darfur. They robbed two people of their money, including a woman in her house.

Eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga that members of the Sudanese army, seemingly drunk, opened fire and wounded two people at Turr in Nierteti locality. They attacked Adam Mohamed Adam in his house in eastern Turr camp, and robbed him. He sustained several injuries.

The soldiers also stormed the house of a woman in the camp, Khadija Abdelrahman, and robbed her of her money at gunpoint.Kara

Farmer attacked

On Thursday, three gunmen in military uniforms opened fire on Abdelrasoul Abdallah when he was tilling his farm east of Turr. The attack left him seriously injured.

Implementing rule of law

The police in Jebel Awlia locality in Khartoum state started a campaign “aimed at eradicating crimes, showing the prestige of the state and implement the rule of law”, the police chief in the locality said in a press statement on Wednesday.Falouha

Brigadier General Esam El Sayed Ali said that the campaign during the past few days will continue and include all locality districts. Meanwhile a number of people in the area complained of being beaten, insulted and shaved over the course of the police crackdown.

‘Villagers killed by shelling in Darfur’s Jebel Marra’: Rebels

October 16 – 2018 SOUTH JEBEL MARRA

Southern Jebel Marra witnessed clashes between government and rebel forces, the Sudan Liberation Movement reported yesterday. Reportedly two civilians have been killed by military shelling.

The armed movement of Abdel Wahid El Nur (SLM-AW) said in a statement that a man and a woman were killed and three others were wounded in heavy military shelling near Wadi Tremel village, in south Jebel Marra on Sunday.

Military spokesman Walid Mohamed Abakar said that the government’s army forces stationed at Kara shelled Wadi Tremel. Abakar pointed to the reason that “Tremel is under control of the movement”.

The spokesman did not state whether there were casualties on the sides of the rebels or government on Sunday. There have been no statements about the reported fighting by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The SLM-AW recently announced an unilateral three-month ceasefire in a certain part of Jebel Marra, to allow for aid assistance. According to UN humanitarian coordinators, “the Government of Sudan and Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid are facilitating access to the affected area”.

Last week the SLM-AW claimed that a number of people have been detained by militiamen in Sortony camp in Kabkabiya in North Darfur. This was the second incident this month involving the militiamen and displaced people.

Road robbery in Central Darfur leaves three dead

October 21 – 2018 TURR / FALOUHA

Three people were killed and two were injured in a road robbery in Central Darfur on Thursday. On Friday, a woman farmer was shot in East Jebel Marra.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a witness reported that a group of gunmen opened fire on a commercial vehicle near Khor Talba, south of Turr.

Three passengers were killed instantly. Two others were seriously wounded.

The gunmen the robbed the drivers and passengers of their belongings, and fled.

On Friday, farmer Hawaya Ibrahim sustained severe bullet wounds in the area of Falouha in East Jebel Marra.

A relative of the victim reported that two herders tried to steal the sorghum she harvested. When she protested, one of them shot her.

SLM-AW says Sudanese army attacking their positions in Jebel Marra

October 29, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) accused the Sudanese army of launching attacks on its positions in Darfur’s mountainous area of Jebel Marra despite a three-month unilateral humanitarian ceasefire. Following torrential rains and landslides that killed at least 21 people in eastern Jebel Marra on 7 September, the SLM-AW declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities from 20 September to 18 December to allow humanitarian access to the affected civilians.

The SLA Commander Abdel Gadir Abdel Rahman Ibrahim aka (Gadora) said in a statement issued on Monday that “the Khartoum regime took advantage of this situation (the humanitarian truce) to commit several serious (human right) violations that began on 26/9/2018 until now”

Gadora further said that the government attacks included the areas of Koor, Gubbo, Touri, Borbasi, Jonglei, Fusou, Argda, Wira, Jedoua Kani and Berifga, where over 25 civilians were killed and farms were destroyed.

He said 15 people were killed in Rabkona and 10 others in Airri in the southern part of Jebel Marra. Also, he accused the Sudanese government militiamen of raping women in several areas including a 14-year girl in an area called Liba.

In his recent report covering the period from 11 June until 3 October 2018, the UN secretary general spoke about sporadic clashes between the two sides saying that government forces kept up pressure on SLA-AW in an effort to eliminate its remaining elements in the Jebel Marra. The report also cited renewed clashes in Gubbo of southern Jebel Marra from 16 to 18 September where 16 government militiamen and 6 rebel fighters were killed. Displaced people who fled the fighting to Kass said 10 civilians had been killed.

“From 20 to 21 September, Sudanese Armed Forces reportedly attacked SLA-AW positions in Sabun Fag, Gur Lumbung, Kuilla and Amrain South Darfur, with three SLA-AW members killed and one injured,”

November 5, 2018 (EL-FASHER) – The commander of Sudanese government Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Daglo aka “Hemetti”., vowed to crush the rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) in Jebel Marra area within three months.

Hemetti and the North Darfur Governor Mohamed Abad Samouh visited Monday three displacement camps of Zamzam, al-Salam and Abushouk outside the state capital El-Fasher. Addressing the residents of Zamzam camp, Samouh announced that his government decided to transform the camps in North Darfur to urban areas. Also, he said the three camps would be annexed to El-Fasher. The governor further stressed his government’s commitment to providing the three areas with the basic services.

For his part, Hameti said his troops would clear Jebel Marra from the remaining fighters of the SLM-AW within three months to enable civilians to retake possession of their areas and develop its economy.

“The next three months will witness the liberation of Jebel Marra from the SLM-AW and it will be transformed into a tourist destination,” he further said adding that the insurgency was “completely crushed and any betting on the rebellion was a losing choice.

Passengers robbed, one wounded in Central Darfur

November 13 – 2018 UM DUKHUN

Gunmen robbed and wounded a passenger of a vehicle in Central Darfur on Sunday. The perpetrators opened fire on the vehicle to force it to stop.

Passenger Nureldin Abuzarga was wounded in the armed robbery on a Nissan truck at Salili area, 10 km north of Um Dukhun town on Sunday.

Passengers from the truck told Radio Dabanga that a group of gunmen, about five to seven men, opened fire on the vehicle to stop it. The bullets injured Abuzarga who has been brought to hospital for treatment.

The eye-witnesses said that after the vehicle stopped, the gunmen seized all the belongings of the passengers including telephones and money, and fled the scene.

(Report also North Darfur)

Darfur: Three dead in violent incidents

November 18 – 2018 UM DUKHUN / FANGA

Three people have been shot dead and one wounded in separate incidents in Central and South Darfur.

A policeman opened fire and shot nurse Abubaker Adam dead and wounded his wife in his house in Um Dukhun in Central Darfur on Thursday.

Also in Um Dukhun, unknown gunmen shot and killed Jeddo Abdelrahim and robbed him of SDG 115,000 ($2,400*).

Herders shot dead Ismail Ali Haroun and robbed him of his money and donkey at Dolo area north of Fanga in Tawila locality in North Darfur.

At 6 am on Friday, a number of herders attacked Mukjar police station to free a herder from jail and their livestock from seizure, where they exchanged fire with the police, who confronted and arrested two of them, while the rest managed to flee.

Civilian dies in Central Darfur air strafing

November 20 – 2018 NIERTETI

A displaced woman farmer was killed on Sunday when an aircraft of the Sudanese Air Force launched a bombardment on the areas east of Nierteti in Central Darfur.

Farmers reported that the air force bombed the areas near Kutrum, three kilometres east of Nierteti, killing a displaced woman who had returned to the area for farming.

They said the air force also bombed the villages of Kuweila, Berbera, Beringo, and Kody in Jebel Marra, however there are no reports of casualties.

They said the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) arrested six people, including two women in those areas on Sunday.

Surviving the Antonovs

The converted Russian-made Antonov 25 cargo aircraft are infamous in Darfur because their arrival means the indiscriminate bombing of villages. In the article entitled Surviving the Antonovs in Darfur, Radio Dabanga editor-in-chief Kamal El Sadig explains that the sound of the cargo aircraft’s engine is unlike that of a helicopter or a jet fighter, and sets in motion a desperate attempt by villagers to find a shelter with their family and animals as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, the attempts are often not successful for all people. The Antonovs are only capable of rolling barrel bombs out of their cargo hatch. The barrels, filled with shrapnel and high explosives, are thus far from accurate. As the weapon is deemed indiscriminate it is illegal under international law.

In addition to the modified Antonovs, Russian Mi-17 and Mi-32 helicopter gunships, Sukhoi and MiG-29 fighter jets, and Chinese-made A-5 ‘Fantan’ jets have all been sighted in Darfur according to the Small Arms Survey.

Rebels ‘repel government militia attack’ in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

November 22 – 2018 JEBEL MARRA

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) of Abdelwahid El Nur’s leadership has announced that it repulsed an attack by the government Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia on the movement’s sites in Fujo and Hillet Ateem in Darfur’s western Jebel Marra on Wednesday morning.

Waleed Abakar, the movement’s military spokesman, claimed to Radio Dabanga from the field that the movement’s forces managed to kill 14 rapid support militia members, including a lieutenant, and seized 16 Kalashnikovs, four machine guns and 14 motorcycles.

He explained that the rapid support militia transferred its wounded to Nierteti

A civilian was killed and three others were wounded by government forces during fighting. Fleeing witnesses reported that the attack caused the killing of Hamid Ali and the wounding of 13-year-old Salima Yousef, 21-year-old Adam Yahya, Hamid and 58-year-old Abdelshakour Adam.

They pointed out that there were missing people who were not counted because everyone had fled in all directions.

Witnesses said that FujoFei14 RSFthe dead and wounded of the troops and the government militias were transferred to the military garrison of Golol and from there were by helicopter to Zalingei for treatment

The government forces and militia also launched another attack on Tibein in northern Jebel Marra.

Abakar told Radio Dabanga that the attack on Sunday afternoon targeted the movement’s sites in Tibin in north Jebel Marra, pointing to continued fighting.

He warned the government against breaching international obligations and covenants and declared the readiness of the movement’s forces to deal with any attack.

Yesterday, Abdelgader Gadura, the commander-in-chief of the movement’s forces, issued a statement, in which he pointed out that the government forces and their militias attacked the movement’s sites in Jebel Marra through five axes of Jebel Marra including Fouj, Fondog, and Kutrum.

He stressed that the battles are ongoing now in all axes to defeat what he called the fugitives of the regime.

There has been no official reaction from the Sudanese armed forces or the official spokesman about what is really happening in Jebel Marra.

Meanwhile, the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen. Abdelrahim Hamdan Dajalo, affirmed the re-arrest of nine members of the Revolutionary Awakening Council of the leadership of detainee Mousa Hilal, headed by Ismail El Aghbash,

Dajalo said in statements quoted by El Mijhar newspaper in its issue yesterday, describing the detainees as a secret cell that provokes sedition, spreading rumours about the regular forces and conducting external and internal communications targeting the rapid support.

He accused in his statements to the newspaper the detainees who were arrested in the house of El Aghbash that they plan to campaign information and activities hostile to the state.

He denied that the RSF had secret detention facilities in Darfur or Khartoum.

Officers of the National Security and Intelligence Service informed the families of the detainees that they were being held.

‘RSF holding abducted civilians in Darfur valley’

November 25 – 2018 KABKABIYA

21 civilians abducted by the Rapid Support Forces, Sudan’s main militia, from Kalinga area east of Nierteti in Central Darfur on Sunday are reportedly being held in a valley nearby Sarafaya between Kabkabiya in North Darfur and Abta in Central Darfur.

Witnesses from Kayalu near Sarafaya said that the detainees showed signs of torture and hunger.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps has appealed to the authorities and Unamid to move to save the lives of the abductees and release them.

On Sunday, an RSF force abducted more than 21 people, including a boy of 14, from east of Kalinga, purportedly in response to theft of camels by armed men.

A relative of one of the detainees told Radio Dabanga that paramilitaries of the RSF stationed east of the Kalinga area in Central Darfur attacked a group of people from 11 villages who were riding donkeys to Nierteti for shopping and detained 21 people including a boy aged 14 at gunpoint.

He said the militiamen condition freeing them with return of camels that have allegedly been stolen from the militiamen, or alternately paying compensation.

‘18 RSF militia killed’ in attacks on Darfur’s Jebel Marra

November 26 – 2018 JEBEL MARRA

The Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdelwahid El Nur leadership (SLM-AW) has announced the alleged killing of 18 members of the government Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in an attack led by government forces in the area of Feina in south-eastern Jebel Marra in Darfur on Saturday.

Abdelgader Gadoura, commander-in-chief of the SLM-AW, reported that “the attack was carried out by 400 troops backed up by 18 armoured vehicles with long-range bombers.”

According to Gadoura, although the SLM-AW has declared a ceasefire, the regime has continued to breach the agreement. He said that SLM-AW fighters responded to the attack, confirming that they are sure that 18 RSF militiamen were killed and 18 others wounded.

The announcement added that more than 40 people had been taken to Kass and Nyala hospitals. An unarmed civilian was allegedly wounded in the leg during the attack and taken to hospital in the liberated territories.

Fighting elsewhere

Fighting also erupted between the SLM-AW forces and RSF troops in southern Jebel Marra on Saturday, near the villages of Sina, Karo, and Sobun El Fagur. This resulted in the death of one civilian while two others were injured.

According to residents, 37-year-old Mohamed Yahya was shot dead, and Adam Shogar and Kalsoum Ibrahim sustained bullet wounds while fleeing Sina village during the clashes between the two sides.

They added that this fighting forced residents to flee from their homes to the valleys and the mountain caves.

There has been no official reaction from the Sudanese armed forces or the official spokesman about what is really happening in Jebel Marra.

The holdout leader El Nur, whose faction resolutely refuses to enter into talks or negotiations with the Khartoum government, reaffirmed that “the movement [SLM-AW] is continuing its struggle against the National Congress government in its steadfast positions of disarming the government’s militias, demanding compensation individually and collectively for the victims, and addressing the roots of the Sudanese crisis with equal citizenship, separation of religion and state, liberalism, and rule of law. All this must be done before talking about peace.”

The Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdelwahid claimed that the Rapid Support Forces destroyed agricultural fields in Jebel Marra, following reports of clashes between the rebel forces and Sudan’s paramilitary forces.

The SLM-AW has accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of burning crops in a number of villages in south-eastern Jebel Marra: around Feina, Kadineer and other areas. The rebels claim that the crops were destroyed “in order to starve the residents by using hunger as a weapon” after the recent fighting around Feina, Fujo, Kadineer, and Hillet Ateem.

The movement also said in a statement yesterday that the RSF has denied civilians access to markets in neighbouring villages which are under the control of the government, where people go to purchase their essential goods.

Mohamed El Nayer, SLM-AW spokesman: “[RSF], show the courage and honour of the war by confronting the Sudan Liberation Movement in the field instead of punishing unarmed civilians, burning and looting their property, while they have nothing to do with the war and fighting in Jebel Marra.

“We condemn these criminal acts and send a clear message to the United Nations, the Security Council, regional and international organisations and all those concerned with the defence of human rights to urgently act to stop these crimes against civilians and open an international investigation, uncover and hold accountable all the planners, instigators and perpetrators.”

On Sunday, the SLM-AW claimed the killing of 18 RSF troops in an attack led by government forces in the area of Feina.

Renewed fighting

On November 13, two children were killed and another was wounded in shelling by government forces stationed in Deribat area in the Jebel Marra area in South Darfur. The situation in the Deribat area was described as tense as previously civilians were reportedly killed by government troops and dozens were injured in an attack by the RSF, that same week.

Early November, the commander of the RSF, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan (also known as Hemeti), vowed to eliminate the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel Wahid Nur in Jebel Marra in three months. El Nur then accused the government of exploiting the declaration of a cease-fire for humanitarian reasons after the recent landslides in Jebel Marra.

In Radio Dabanga’s ongoing reporting on the renewed heavy clashes in Darfur’s Jebel Marra, the SLM-AW was the only armed movement reported to be involved in the fighting. In August a United Nations panel of independent experts on Sudan reported that the clashes, after nearly a year-long lull, have resulted in a “significant number of casualties on both sides and among civilians.”

The fighting in Jebel Marra has forced thousands to flee, with many taking refuge in caves and valleys with no access to food, water or proper shelter, the Panel of Experts confirmed. “The situation has been uniformly characterised as a dire humanitarian situation,” it said.

Sudan Tribune

16,000 people displaced from Jebel Marra since September: UNAMID

December 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) chief, Jeremiah Mamabolo, on Sunday said thousands of people have been displaced due to continued clashes between government forces and armed groups in Darfur. Speaking at a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday, Mamabolo said 16,000 people have been displaced to camps in the various localities of Jebel Marra in south and central Darfur since September.

He pointed out that repeated skirmishes between armed groups and government forces have adversely impacted on civilians in Jebel Marra area. Although the UNAMID chief has refrained from naming a specific armed group involved in these skirmishes, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur continued to report that its fighters have clashed with the government militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a number of areas around Jebel Marra during the recent weeks.

UNAMID EXIT STRATEGY

Meanwhile, Mamabolo announced that the UNAMID headquarters would move from the capital of North Darfur State, El-Fasher to Khartoum as part of the Mission’s exit strategy. He pointed out that UNAMID has so far handed over 8 sites to the Sudanese government, saying the Mission will withdraw from two more sites before the end of December.

Herders attack farmers in Central Darfur

December 3 – 2018 ZALINGEI

Five farmers are in serious condition after armed herders opened fire and wounded 11 people on farms at Kombo Denko village, 20km east of Zalingei in Central Darfur.

El Shafee Abdallah, the coordinator of Central Darfur camps, told Radio Dabanga that herders on camels, horses, and motorcycles took their cattle to graze on farms in Kombo Denko village on Saturday.

It was reported that the farmers are displaced people who were returned to their area of origin from El Hamidiya camp to Kombo Denko village in order to farm.

When the farmers tried to chase the livestock from their farms, the herders opened fire on them and wounded 11 people, according to Abdallah. The five in serious condition were taken to Zalingei hospital. Their names are Hafiz Mousa, Abakar Ismail, Mohamed Abdallah, Halima Ahmed, and Khadija Adam.

A similar attack took place on Friday, when herders opened fire on farmers near Kobe village, 20km south of Gireida in South Darfur.

A farmer told Radio Dabanga that four armed herders on camels trespassed farmland by allowing their cattle to graze and when the farmers started to remove the cattle, they opened fire on them.

Abdelrahim Shigaf, also a displaced person who had been returned to his place of origin, was shot and wounded. He explained that the incident was reported to Gireida police and the victim was taken to hospital.

Tensions over land and pastures have often caused clashes between farmers in the region of Jebel Marra and militant herders who want to use their farms as pasture. Displaced returning to their area of origin complain about new settlers who occupy their villages.

Unamid exit

The Unamid Joint Special Representative, Jeremiah Mamabolo, told a press briefing on the status of the Unamid drawdown and exit strategy in Khartoum yesterday morning that while security has improved in most parts of Darfur, the region still witnesses “fresh waves of displacement”.

He said, however, that “with regard to the peacekeeping operations in the Jebel Marra area, the Mission has significantly reconfigured its military component and is reducing the force by 3,265 uniformed personnel by December 31 and by another 1,420 by the end of June 2019, to remain with a strength of 4,050 military personnel by end of June 2019”.

Three Darfur children killed in Jebel Marra shelling

December 16 – 2018 ROKORO

Three young siblings were killed in heavy shelling on Karwa area, five kilometres south of Rokoro in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur in Thursday.

One of the children’s relatives told Radio Dabanga that Sudanese army troops and militiamen stationed near Rokoro began shelling the area in the early morning on Thursday. At 8:00 pm, the house of Hamid Yagoub was hit, killing his three children Hawa (8), Mudasir (7) and Yousef (5) instantly.

UN Security Council

Last week, the President of UN Security Council (UNSC) issued a issued a statement lauding the progress made by the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (Unamid), However, the statement expresses the UNSC’s “concern about the security and humanitarian situation in Jebel Marra”.

In early December, the Unamid Joint Special Representative, Jeremiah Mamabolo, told a press briefing on the status of the Unamid drawdown and exit strategy in Khartoum this morning that while security has improved in most parts of Darfur, the region still witnesses “fresh waves of displacement”.

Mamabolo: “Given the improved security in most parts of Darfur, civilians are reportedly returning gradually to their homes after years of displacement. However, Darfur still witnesses fresh waves of displacement, with a significant emphasis in Jebel Mara where intermittent hostilities between non-state armed groups and regular forces continue to directly affect civilians in the area. Approximately 16,000 people have been displaced into various camps and settlements in various localities in Jebel Marra in both South and Central Darfur, which represents an increase of 4,000 people since September 2018.”

Sudan Tribune

Sudan denies access to Darfur peacekeepers in Jebel Marra: report
January 22, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Darfur hybrid peacekeeping force (UNAMID) was not able to verify reported human rights violations and violence in the Greater Jebel Marra area, amid reports of clashes between the government and fighters of Sudan Liberation Movement Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW).

In a recent report to the UN Security Council dated on 14 January, seen by Sudan Tribune, the Secretary-General gave a gloomy picture about the situation in the troubled Jebel Marra area of Darfur region.

The report, which insists on the good cooperation with the government institutions, underscores the inability of the peacekeepers to fulfil their principal mission, the protection of civilians, due to the restricted access to many areas in Jebel Marra.

“The ability of UNAMID to independently monitor and verify reported violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law remained a challenge, owing to lack of access to Jebel Marra, in particular in Feina and Sabun el Fagur localities in Central Darfur”.

During the past 90 days from 4 October 2018 to 3 January 2019, “there were 75 new cases of human rights violations and abuses involving 140 victims, including 32 children,” says the report, before to note the relative decrease compared with 90 cases of human rights violations during the previous period.

21 of the 75 cases were reportedly perpetrated by the government regular army and its militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). For the remaining cases, the report speaks about “civilians”, “armed men” and two cases attributed to the SLA-AW rebels.

On 22 January, the head of UNAMID Jeremiah Mamabolo and the Central Darfur Governor, Mohamad Ahmed Jadelsid officially inaugurated the new headquarters of UNAMID in Zalingei. The new premises have been operating since October 2018 in line with a reconfiguration plan providing to limit the mission activities in the Greater Jebel Marra. The report says that all areas that are most affected by the violence are located the Greater Jebel Marra including around Golo, Nertiti and Thur in Central Darfur, Kass in South Darfur, and Sortony in North Darfur. Also, it emphasizes that people belonging to the Fur ethnic group are the main victims of crimes against internally displaced persons and civilians in general.

SLM-AW: ‘Darfur village raised by shelling’

January 24 – 2019 JEBEL MARRA

The Sudan Liberation Movement faction under the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) reports that government forces, stationed at Gobo area south of Jebel Marra have burned the entire village of Saboun El Fagur with artillery shells, causing a number of deaths and injuries.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Mohamed El Nayer, the spokesman for the movement condemned targeting the unarmed civilian villages in the strongest terms, considering it “an attempt by the regime to divert attention from the real crisis it is experiencing as a result of the peaceful popular uprising organised in most parts of the country”.

Armed robbery

Ibrahim Abdelkarim, a resident of the Northern Nierteti Camp for the displaced was shot dead in a robbery, allegedly by army soldiers, on Tuesday night.

One of the camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that five members of the army attacked Abdelkarim at 7 pm on Tuesday, shot him dead, stole his possessions of a mobile phone and money and then fled.

‘Hard to monitor’

The stricken village is specifically mentioned in the latest periodic report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the UN Security Council of January 14.

In his report, Guterres laments: “The ability of Unamid to independently monitor and verify reported violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law remained a challenge, owing to lack of access to Jebel Marra, in particular in Feina and Saboun El Fagur localities in Central Darfur. Victims and witnesses interviewed reported serious human rights concerns involving the Sudanese Armed Forces, Military Intelligence, the National Intelligence, and Security Services, and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including alleged indiscriminate killings, sexual violence in the form of rape, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention.

“Notwithstanding sustained and positive engagement between state authorities and Unamid, corroborating reports on human rights incidents in Central Darfur continued to be a challenge.”

Guterres notes that this is owing in part to lack of willingness by law enforcement and judicial authorities to share information with Unamid.

Revenge attack kills two, police station torched in Darfur

January 25 – 2019 MUKJAR

A policeman in Central Darfur shot dead his wife and injured his son. In retaliation of his act, a mob of angry people stormed the police station and killed him.

Policeman Zekin Mohamed shot dead his wife Halima Abdelaziz along with wounding their son in Mukjar in Central Darfur, earlier this week, for reasons that are yet unknown.

According to an eyewitnesses speaking to Radio Dabanga, the policeman rushed to surrender himself at the police station in Mukjar.

Dozens of angry people then attacked and broke into the police station. They took out the policeman and killed him.

In addition people burned the police station.

The commissioner of Mukjar, Mohamed Hamadein, acknowledged the incident, adding that the police did not know the motives for the killing. He claimed that “the situation has returned to normal after the death of Mohamed”.

The witness said that the police in Mukjar was involved in the killing of three civilians before, without a clear reason.

(Report also in South Darfur)

Fires destroy homes and kill child in Darfur

February 25 – 2019 MUKJAR / GIREIDA

On Sunday, fires broke out in the eastern displaced camp in Mukjar in Central Darfur and Um Balola camp for displaced people in Gireida in South Darfur, killing a child and burning over 30 houses.

El Shafi Abdallah, a coordinator of the camps for displaced people in Central Darfur, told Radio Dabanga that the fire killed 9-year-old Abdelrazig Ahmed and burned 21 houses.

On Sunday morning, a fire also broke out in Um Balola camp for displaced people in Gireida in South Darfur and ten homes burned to the ground.

A camp resident told Radio Dabanga that the fire broke out at about 9am and caused a great deal of damage. The affected families are now homeless.

He appealed to locality authorities and organisations to expedite their assistance.

The exact cause of the fires is unknown, but it is believed that causes were accidental.

Security service arrests more suspects of Central Darfur lynching

March 1 – 2019 MUKJAR

The number of people detained in Mukjar in Central Darfur has increased from 16 to 40 and also includes secondary school students. They have been suspected of lynching a policeman who murdered his wife and wounded his son.

In January, people in Mukjar became angry when policeman Zekin Mohamed shot and killed his wife Halima Abdelaziz, and wounded their son. The angry mob went to the police station, dragged Mohamed out, and killed him before setting the station on fire.

The Sudanese security service subsequently arrested 16 youths in one of the camps for displaced people in Central Darfur. This week, they arrested 24 more people.

A listener informed Radio Dabanga this week that among the detainees were 10 women, 15 secondary school students and 15 other youths.

He said that the security service entered the Mukjar camp market and homes of displaced people on Wednesday and Thursday in search of 28 other suspected camp residents. This has brought the number of wanted people for the lynching to 68.

“The raids in the camp led to the flight of a large number of secondary school students and five medical assistants,” the listener explained.

He appealed to the authorities and the native administration to intervene to stop the raids, so that the secondary students will be able to sit for their final examinations on Saturday.

The Sudan Liberation Movement headed by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) has renewed its appeal to local, regional, and international organisations to intervene to save the lives of people living in Jebel Marra against rapidly spreading measles, dysentery, pneumonia, and eye infections.

Mohamed Abdallah, the official of the health unit in Turung Tawra in the southern part of Jebel Tawra reported that they have closed schools in the area to combat the infection of the students and teachers with the disease and to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

Dr Abdelaziz Adam, head of the health office in the Jebel Marra areas under control of the SLM-AW, reported the deaths of dozens and hundreds of those diseases because of the shortage of medicines and medical staff. He also said that the regime blockades access or delivery of any medicines, and government forces arrest any traders coming to Jebel Marra under the emergency law.

He called for pressure on Khartoum regime to allow the entry of medicines and the humanitarian organisation for the relief of patients and to prevent a humanitarian disaster and the fall of more victims.

‘Acute watery diarrhoea’

The Legitimate Sudan Doctors Union pointed to the frequency of information that there are many cases of acute watery diarrhoea (often a sign of cholera) in the area of Libei in eastern Jebel Marra.

It explained that the region suffers from a complete collapse of health facilities and public health systems. It pointed to reports of the arrival of a large number of cases to various hospitals in East Darfur for nearly two weeks now, accusing authorities of covering up the disease.

The union warned of the seriousness of the outbreak of the epidemic in the region, pointing to the overcrowding of the people affected by the war in the displaced camps.

It called on the humanitarian organisations working in Darfur and the WHO office in Sudan to conduct epidemiological investigation of the source of ill health, care for the infected and provide vaccines for those exposed to the disease.

Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in Central Darfur arrested 35-year-old nurse Mousa Ahmed Ali from inside a clinic in Turr in southern Jebel Marra.

A member of Ali’s family told Radio Dabanga that a security force in two vehicles came from Nierteti on Sunday morning and held the nurse from inside a clinic in Turr and took him to Nierteti without giving any explanation.

He expressed concern that Ali might be tortured or ill-treated and demanded his immediate release.

Jebel Marra access

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan, during the first half of 2018, some 15,000 people were newly displaced in Darfur, all of which was in and from Jebel Marra. In Radio Dabanga’s ongoing reporting on the renewed heavy clashes in Darfur’s Jebel Marra, the SLM-AW was the only armed movement reported to be involved in the fighting.

The mountainous Jebel Marra is the only place in Darfur where armed opposition maintains prolonged control over territory and the only area in Darfur to which humanitarian organisations had no access between 2011 and 2015. For this reason, access restrictions have been put in place by Khartoum for government- and rebel-controlled areas.

As the latest periodic report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the UN Security Council of January 14 pointed out: “Notwithstanding sustained and positive engagement between state authorities and Unamid, corroborating reports on human rights incidents in Central Darfur continued to be a challenge.”

In September 2018, however, the SLM-AW announced a ceasefire to facilitate access and relief aid to a landslide-affected area in East Jebel Marra. Abdelgader Gadoura, commander-in-chief of the movement, said in November that although the SLM-AW has declared a ceasefire, the regime has continued to breach the agreement.

Peace process

The SLM-AW, that, together with the Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against the Khartoum government in 2002-03, has witnessed a number of splits. The largest one was the breakaway of a group led by Minni Minawi in 2006. They were divided on the issue of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Still, Abdelwahid El Nur and his movement resolutely refuse to enter into talks or negotiations with the Khartoum government. Last month, the head of the Unamid Joint Special Representative (JSR), Jeremiah Mamabolo, renewed his appeal to the holdout rebel leader to join the peace process.

Two massive fires broke out in Central Darfur and in South Darfur on Sunday, leaving more than 250 houses destroyed.

A fire in Um Dukhun in Central Darfur destroyed more than 200 houses, large amounts of food, crops and a number of livestock.

The fire, of which the cause is yet unknown, destroyed more than 150 houses west of the Um Dukhun market. Witnesses said that the financial losses most likely enormous.

A fire in Hijeir Tongo, southeast of Nyala in South Darfur, destroyed more than 50 houses. The fire consumed large quantities of food, crops and a number of livestock.

Victims in both areas speaking to Radio Dabanga said that the incidents have left hundreds of people in the open without shelter or food. They have appealed to the authorities and humanitarian organisations to help them.

Strike in Central Darfur after veterinarian beaten, humiliated

March 22 – 2019 ZALINGEI

Veterinarians in Central Darfur called a strike on Thursday, in protest against the harassment, beating, and humiliation of a colleague by security agents.

The strike was sparked by reports that the head of the Golo Veterinary Unit in Jebel Marra, Ahmed Yousef, was beaten and had his head shaved by agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) after he refused to allow the sale of unauthorised meat to one of the butchers in the market.

The veterinarians are responsible for overseeing the slaughter of animals for human consumption, and only approved meat may be sold.

The head of the Central Darfur Ministry of Production and Livestock, Nasir Doud, threatened to suspend all slaughtering in all markets of the state unless the NISS apologises.

About the Author

Eric Reeves has been writing about greater Sudan for the past twenty years. His work is here organized chronologically, and includes all electronic and other publications since the signing of the historic Machakos Protocol (July 2002), which guaranteed South Sudan the right to a self- determination referendum. There are links to a number of Reeves’ formal publications in newspapers, news magazines, academic journals, and human rights publications, as well as to the texts of his Congressional testimony and a complete list of publications, testimony, and academic presentations. Learn More